


What the Nightingale Spies

by at1stsoo



Category: EXO (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Office, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Comedy, Humor, M/M, Masturbation, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2018-11-13 16:17:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 82,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11188785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/at1stsoo/pseuds/at1stsoo
Summary: Midnight missions get a lot more interesting for Kai when he's tasked with navigating a new operative in the agency. Known to each other only by the voices flowing through their earpieces, how close can two people really get in this espionage world that demands secrecy above all else?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi old friends and new ones! I wanted to try doing a chaptered fic again. The plan is for something like 10 short chs. I hope to post updates regularly: Every 2 weeks is the goal but please be patient with me if it takes longer than that, as I'm in 3 fic fests right now, too.
> 
> A huge thank you to my reader and pal lostinthedragon for making this beautiful poster for me! And to my friend kaissbitch for helping me with the title!

 

 

“Ayyyy, who left a sock in the fridge?” Chen whines.

 

“LEFT a sock in the fridge? Don’t you mean who put a sock in the fridge? Don’t normalize it. Since when is the office refrigerator an appropriate place to store hosiery?” Wendy asks between bites of her muffin. She sits at the small table in the office break room and motions for Chen to hold the sock up for inspection. In addition to violating her hygiene standards, the bright orange and white polka-dotted sock apparently offends her sense of style, based on the face she makes. “Trash it.”

 

Jongin sighs as he tries to pour a cup of coffee from the communal pot… and finds it empty. Great, the last person that needed their caffeine fix couldn’t be bothered to brew a new batch. He hopes they get heart burn.

 

One would expect this office to be a bit more sophisticated, have a little more professionalism than a typical workplace, but no. Same shit, different cubicle. It only took a few days after he started working here for Jongin to realize Prudence Inc. was no different from any other office setting he’s worked in.

 

Well, aside from the fact that they’re a government contracted agency handling the most classified cases in South Korea. They’re a high-class espionage corporation, supposedly the best in the business.

 

Sometimes though, Jongin questions their hiring process. Mostly in moments like this: Baekhyun slips into the break room and snatches the sock out of Chen’s hand just before it reaches the garbage can, cheering “it’s like air con for my toesies, be jealous,” before dashing back out again.

 

Jongin adjusts the tight black tie around his neck and sighs. He sets a new batch of coffee to brew and reluctantly treads back to his work desk without the pick-me-up. It’s 3am, and he could use the boost, but at least he’s accustomed to working this late. He’s prepared to go until sunrise, like usual. Most of his assignments are after midnight since his particular line of work tends to benefit from the cover of darkness.

 

Jongin is a navigator. All of them on this floor of the office are, actually. They’re the “eyes in the sky” or more accurately, eyes on the screen, for the field agents, aka operatives. For the most part, each navigator is paired with two or three regular operatives to ensure smooth communication during missions. Jongin had already completed an assignment earlier this evening with Tao, one of his regulars. Might even be his favorite regular, if one could really develop an attachment to a faceless alias on the other end of the line.

 

Operatives are practically ghosts, completely unknown persons. They’re expected to be versatile chameleons, able to blend right into the fabric of the fast-paced, overcrowded streets of Seoul or be believable as countryside farm folk in the fields of Jeolla-do – whatever the current mission requires. Navigators and operatives never meet or see each other’s faces. “It’s for your mutually respective safety,” Jongin and his entering cadre had been told during training. No one wanted to tug at that thread to reveal the dangers behind it, and they’d all accepted it as part of the job, just like the formal business dress code.

 

As far as anyone here knows, Jongin’s name is Kai. They each chose a codename upon signing on and follow a strict policy of not exchanging personal information or maintaining contact outside the building.

 

Despite the eccentricities of his navigator team, Jongin knows they each take such restrictions very seriously when it comes to the actual nature of their jobs. There’s no way ‘Wendy’ is really called as such on the outside by her friends. Chen is quirky, but clearly keeps secrets well behind that mischievous smile of his. And Baekhyun… okay, so he’s not sure how Baek manages to keep quiet about work. Maybe he uses up all his breath in the office and simply has nothing left after his shifts end.

 

Jongin sits down at his desk and logs back into the system. After the fingerprinting scan is complete, his dashboard pops up and notifies him of a new mission in his queue. He clicks the _Begin_ button, and stretches his arm out to snag the envelope that slides down his delivery chute in the wall before it can hit the collection box at the bottom.

 

_Mission 1091_

 

It’s a thin packet, just two items inside. Missions come in plain vanilla colored envelopes with a briefing memo and USB drives containing all the digital files the navigator will need for the job. Everything here is on a need-to-know basis, so information is usually sparse: Operative name, a general objective, the available maps of the anonymous city, and/or blueprints of unnamed buildings. Immediately following a successful operation, all materials are to be repackaged in the envelope and sent to the incinerator. In case of a failed mission, all materials get re-stocked and sent upstairs to Kris, the head of their branch. In his 473 days of working for the agency, Kai has had precisely one failed mission.

 

He plans to never have a repeat.

 

For this mission, he’s working with one of his usual operatives, Lay. They’re going to be doing some reconnaissance, breaking into a secured corporate building to gather sensitive files potentially related to money laundering. The usual.

 

Kai loads the digital files to his desktop, then clicks-and-drags the blueprints into an orderly arrangement, quickly scanning through them to understand the inner workings of the mid-size office building. Once he’s satisfied he’s found the best pathway to the target, he gets his headset on and greets his operative. “Good evening. Kai here, ready to lead. Let me know when we’re a go.”

 

“Yo. Lay here. Armed and waiting. Turning on my locator now.”

 

A green indicator flashes on Kai’s primary screen. The encrypted GPS device gives location details within a five centimeter margin of error and projects the operative within a computer-generated mock up of the location. Kai has the option of staying two-dimensional with the green dot flashing within the blueprint or switch to 3D, but he personally finds the 3D version unnecessary and a lot less natural. Apparently, using body cams to see exactly what the field agents see was deemed too great a security risk, so using digital renderings based on pulse sonar was a better option. It took a while to get used to looking at colorless 3D shapes and interpreting them easily, but Kai can do it. He’d just rather not when he’s so at home in the 2D blueprints with their nice, methodical gridlines.

 

“Okay, the elevator shaft you’re coming up on – as far as we know, it only goes up to the 8th floor, then you’re going to have to use the stairwell in the northwest corner to access the 9 th,” Kai explains over his headset, studying the 8th story floorplan on his secondary monitor. On his main screen, Lay’s green locator light blinks reassuringly, showing him still ascending the elevator shaft. Kai keeps his progress within his periphery at all times while scanning ahead for any obstacles.

 

Lay is an extremely proficient climber, so he makes small talk as he goes. “The new carabiners are pretty sweet. They’re electric blue.”

 

“New equipment? That sounds nice. We’re still struggling with desk chairs from the ‘70s over here.”

 

“How do you know what decade they’re from?”

 

“They’re covered in a hideous paisley print. It’s more comforting to think of them as super old than to believe they’re newer and the company’s wasting money on an interior designer with such crap taste.”

 

Lay chuckles and then they drop the conversation. It’s hard to keep it going when there are limited topics that feel safe to discuss because you don’t want to know your partner too well.

 

As Lay approaches the top of the elevator shaft, Kai asks him to turn on his thermal viewer again. There shouldn't be anyone up on this floor since both security guards were accounted for downstairs before they got started, but it's always better safe than sorry.

 

"Okay, everything looks clear from over here," he reassures.

 

"Ditto from my view. I can go straight down this hallway and hang a right to northwest stairwell?" Lay double-checks.

 

"Yep. The hall makes a perfect rectangle, so it's an L shape either path you cut. It'll take two steps fewer if you go to the right now instead of later, so that you approach the door from the direction it’ll open, but your pick," Kai explains.

 

Lay snorts and goes right. "Whatever you say, nerd."

 

He makes it into the 9th floor’s executive suite undetected, and Kai can hear him start rummaging through a filing cabinet for whatever it is he's looking for. Operatives always have additional details on precisely what they're retrieving, but Kai's not privy to that info and his navigation skills are of little use to the spy on the ground unless they need help determining a new location. So Kai sits at his desk, watching the screen for any heat flares that would indicate trouble, and drums his fingers on the countertop. Maybe he should get one of those fidget spinner thingies to pass the time.

 

"Okay got it! Lead me out of here and maybe we can both make it home earlier than sunrise for once," Lay requests.

 

The way out is even easier than the way in, security guards apparently having passed out in their ‘surveillance’ room. Once Lay's in the clear night air again, they sign off. Mission successful.

 

Kai disconnects the USB drive from his computer and slips it back into the manila envelope with the briefing sheet. He updates the mission status on his dashboard to _Successful - Destination Incinerator_ , and the screen automatically goes into temporary lock mode to let him take care of the materials. He carries the packet to the central dropbox down the hall next to the break room and slips it into the receptacle, pressing the confirmation button to release it down to the incinerator.

 

The sizzle smells and sounds like victory.

 

He checks his watch and debates whether to grab the cup of coffee or not. It's 4:30am, and he's already worked two missions, so he should be able to take off now and maybe get to...

 

"Hey, Kai!” Baekhyun chirps from the break room. “Come here. You got a sec?”

 

Coffee. Definitely gonna need coffee for this.

 

He pours a cup while he feigns interest in Baek’s plans for reorganizing the tea offerings into alphabetical order in the upper cabinet. (Is he serious? Is he talking in code and Kai’s just not caught on to the cypher? Can anyone _really_ be this interested in Earl Grey vs English Breakfast varieties?) The one-way conversation continues all the way back to Kai’s desk, where he logs in again to mark the mission _Complete_. He’s about to make an excuse about needing to water his cactus to shake off Baekhyun and head out when his computer pings.

 

A new mission. Surprised, Kai cautiously hits the _Begin_ button and stares at the envelope that slides down his delivery chute and smacks against the bottom of the collection box. He arches an eyebrow as he makes a grab for the unexpected drop in a black envelope.

 

“Ooo special mission! Is it with Tao?” asks Baek, nosy as always.

 

_Mission 1212_

 

Kai slides the briefing memo out and scans it. “No, it’s someone new. Operative name: Dyo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like the setup! Big thank you and snuggles go out to my dear indigomini for beta'ing this. She's the bestest <3 Even if she is incredibly childish and wrote BUTT or ASS every time the word 'bottom' showed up. >_<
> 
> Talk with me in the comments! (or on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com))
> 
> <3 At1stsight/at1stsoo


	2. Chapter 2

“Oh my gawww -- Wendy!” Baekhyun bellows down to her cubicle. “Wendy, don’t act like you don’t hear me, girl. I know you already finished up that job with Joy – I heard you incinerate. Get down here!”

Kai shushes the loudmouth, flashing him incredulous eyes. “Baekhyun, are you nuts? This isn’t where to put chamomile in the breakroom: it’s a confidential assignment. We’re not supposed to— “

“Oh settle down, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes. We’re not going to get into the specifics of your mission, but we _must_ talk about this operative,” Baek says, bouncing excitedly on his toes.

“It’s almost quitting time. What is so critically exciting at this hour.” Wendy glides up to them, her slick black pumps barely making a sound on the wood floors. If she wasn’t so striking in appearance with her naturally amber-colored hair, she might’ve made a great operative, Kai considers. Her arms are crossed, and she’s semi-glaring at Baekhyun until he informs her with an eyebrow waggle:

“He’s got a mission with Dyo.”

Wendy’s demeanor changes on a dime, jaw dropping as she turns to face Kai, startling him with the wide-eyed look she gives. “Shut up. You’re so lucky!” She swats his shoulder something fierce and Kai muffles a whimper, rubbing his shoulder once she turns back to make high-pitched squealing noises with Baek. Wtf is going on here. He can usually depend on Wendy to be the most normal of the bunch.

“Why is this everyone’s business?” he asks tentatively.

“Because,” Baekhyun explains, “he’s new. Not just to you, to the company. He hasn’t matched with anyone permanently yet.”

“Ugh, I was really hoping I’d get to keep him,” Wendy whines, biting into her lower lip.

Baekhyun sits down on top of Kai’s desk (because why the hell not, apparently this conversation is happening whether Kai wants it to or not) and swings his legs. “We were just talking about him the other day because—”

“Because this guy has the voice of, I don’t even know, not an angel. A… a…”

“A late night DJ on an adult contemporary station playing sweet, sweet babymaking music from the 90s,” Baekhyun volunteers.

“That’s um, oddly specific,” Kai comments, giving Baek an uneasy look as he shoos him off his desk with the folder. “Can I please get back to work now?”

The navigator pops off Kai’s desk, but immediately spins Kai’s chair away from his computer and back toward him and Wendy. Baekhyun grips the armrests to trap him and his attention. “You don’t understand, dude.”

Kai leans as far back in his chair as possible, unsettled by how close and intense Baekhyun is. Even for Baek.

Wendy pipes up, pointing at his captor, “You know I’m the first to call this doofus out on his drama queen tendencies, but that voice really is something else. When I had Dyo, he had to dig a trench to lay cable, and he was grunting for practically half the mission. Heol, I’m not ashamed to say I had to change my panties afterward.”

“Say what now? Who’s losing their underwear?” Chen pokes his head in because why not? It’s not like Kai is working or anything. He pinches the bridge of his nose and holds back a groan as the other two catch Chen up to speed.

“…so you regularly keep spare panties at work?” Chen asks Wendy casually before taking another sip of his drink. She sticks her tongue out at him and murmurs something about responsible girls being prepared for feminine issues while Baekhyun keeps waxing poetic about the operative.

“It’s not just the voice. It’s how he uses it, too. The guy is a total charmer – I don’t know where they found him.”

“Okay, THANK YOU,” Kai announces, holding up his hands to get his coworkers to stop talking. “Thank you for the thorough rundown on how much of an _impression_ he has made on you, but may I please remind you we are all professionals here? And I’m keeping your new favorite operative waiting right now, so if you could kindly...?” He gestures for them to scatter away from his workspace.

“Well, good chat team.” Baekhyun clasps his hands together. “I really feel we’ve bonded today like never before. Let’s do it again soon!” he tosses over his shoulder on his way back to his own desk.

Wendy gives Kai an understanding smile, smoothing out her blouse and returning to her usual propriety. “I’m heading out. I’ll see you tomorrow, Kai.” He gives a polite bow of his head in reply.

As Chen turns to leave, he points at him with his cup. “Tell me if this guy is really worth the fuss tomorrow, since I’ll probably get him next. Seems like they’re going to cycle him through all the navigators.”

“Sure, sure,” Kai says distractedly, reading over the briefing now. He’s already wasted a lot of prep time. Luckily, the navigation details are very straightforward for this mission. He’s just got to lead the operative to a room full of servers on the first floor of a tech company that should be unpatrolled at this hour.

He quickly sets up the blueprints in their orderly array on his secondary screen. Every floorplan is lined up, just in case, even though he should only need the first level.

Okay, deep breath. Wait, what. Kai shakes his head. Just another mission, what’s with the nervous buzzing under his skin. He gets his headset in place and clears his throat before switching it on.

“Good eve- Good morning. Kai here, ready to lead. Let me know when we’re a go.”

Kai waits (reminding himself not to hold his breath). Silence. He checks his mic is on and repeats his intro. Still no response. “Um, hello? Agent Dyo?” he attempts again after another five seconds. Great. He’s so late to get the mission started after accepting it, his operative has fallen asleep or left the post or—

“Well hello there, stranger. Never had the pleasure of speaking with you before.”

Okay, he’s not sure what he was expecting, but wow. _Wow._ A spark runs downs his spine and spreads heat throughout his body, causing him to jolt and slosh his coffee on the desk. It’s not even the deepness of the voice that’s so disarming, it’s the… smoothness? And how warm it is? Oh God, he needs to say something.

“Ah, yes.” It comes out stuttered and unsure. Stupid voice betraying how flustered he is.

He can hear the smile in Dyo’s voice when he croons out his next words. “Aw, are you shy, sweetheart? Should I call you shy Kai?”

He lets out an affronted scoff, but his voice cracks when he replies. “No I—I’ve got a sore throat that’s all. Please excuse any vocal anomalies.” With his face on fire, Kai mops up the coffee drops on his desk. Thank God Baekhyun left the office already because he’d never let him live this down.

Dyo is chuckling affectionately on the other end of the line. “Oh you’re gonna be fun to work with, I can tell. Sorry about your throat, shy Kai. Don’t worry – I won’t make you wear it out this early morning. How about you go ahead and brief me on the navigation plan, tiger?”

What the fuck is with these nicknames. He should hate them. But all he can think of is that Tao’s never given him a nickname. No, stop it. He shouldn’t be this easily bought by some new agent who just waltzes in and starts dropping affectionate morsels with that dark honey voic—

“You still there, sweetheart?”

Shit. “Yes. Yes, apologies, I was just reviewing the floorplans.” Kai peeks at the blinking green indicator that’s appeared on his primary screen, showing Dyo stationed outside the southeast corner of the building. There’s a back entrance that is only a few hundred paces along the corridor to the server room. A nice straight shot.

But something seems off – there’s a walled off closet-sized room along the corridor that’s marked as storing a heating unit. Only... Kai sees the ductwork all feeding into a different room that also supposedly houses a heater. This building is too small to require two main heating units.

“Um, Dyo, your target is really close to the back entrance you’re currently standing outside of, but I think you might be better off using the stairwell just inside to head up to the 2 nd floor. There are only individual offices up there. You can go straight, following the southern corridor, and then come back down the southwest stairwell on the right. Then retrace the hall back two doors and enter the server room.”

He hears Dyo adjusting some equipment, likely in a shoulder bag, before he replies. “Okay, sounds good to me. Slipping inside now, doll.”

“I’m no _doll._ ” Kai winces. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud.

“Is that so?” comes the amused voice-of-heaven through his earpiece. “But you are shy, a sweetheart, and a tiger then? Got it,” Dyo says with a few sexy clucks of his tongue, as though he’s cataloging the tags in his mind.

“No- I’m not- I never said any of that. What is with you and these monikers?”

“Just feeling you out, Romeo.”

Kai flips his mic up away from his mouth as he squeaks and curses at himself. He flips it back down, trying to sound convincingly stern. “Stop it. You’re distracting--”

“So I’ve been told.”

“—me. And I’m not a Romeo, either!” Kai quickly continues. Dammit, he can hear Dyo’s smirk from however many miles away.

The blinking green light shows the operative has made it halfway across the 2 nd floor. Thankfully, he keeps his mouth shut the rest of the way to the server room, giving Kai a chance to try to calm his nerves and rapid heartbeat.

“Alright, I’m in. Why don’t you tell me about yourself while I get this setup, studly?”

“Ew,” he shakes off that nickname as Dyo laughs at his visceral disgust. Kai sighs as he pulls out a disinfectant spray from his drawer to more thoroughly clean up the coffee spill from earlier, spraying and wiping while keeping his eyes trained on the screen. “That’s basically against protocol, _agent Dyo_. I know you’re new here, but surely they made you go through training before sending you out on missions?”

“Indeed they did.” A series of soft electronic beeps filter through the headset from whatever work the operative is doing.

“So what: You don’t follow rules? Are you a bad boy, then?” Kai mocks him.

“Maybe. You want me to be?” asks the sultry voice, dropping an octave.

Kai chokes on his coffee. Okay, note to self: Do NOT have beverages around this guy. Also, do NOT attempt to mock. Provoking him only makes everything worse. Maybe Kai should just be done talking all together.

There are more soft electronic chirps in the background and then Dyo speaks again. “I can’t help but notice you didn’t say no.”

“NO. Please, just focus on your mission, Dyo. Plus, I promise, I’m not that interesting.”

“Oh, I beg to differ, sugar.”

“Really, there’s not much to know,” Kai mumbles as he looks through the rest of the building’s floorplans, hunting for evidence of a second heating unit and still finding none. Oh well. He waits patiently, watching Dyo’s light blink its nice steady pace within the 2D mock up of the 1 st floor server room.

“Alright, shy Kai. I’m all done here. Time to head out.”

“You’re all clear to follow the same route back,” Kai affirms.

Dyo’s light exits the server room but pauses in the hallway.

“Something wrong?” Kai asks, scanning carefully but seeing no infrared detection of other people in the vicinity.

The operative remains frozen in place in the hallway. “I’m curious, tiger. Why the long route?”

And then the flashing green dot starts moving, just a tad, in the wrong direction.

“Dyo, no! Go right – back to the stairwell,” Kai instructs firmly, mildly alarmed and leaning closer to his screen.

The green light stops right away when chastised. “Okay, don’t worry, darling,” he soothes Kai with the most goddamn delicious voice fuckfuckfuck. “I’ll take your way out. But explain?”

“Because. There’s… there’s a room I didn’t like on this floor.”

“What’d it do, call you Romeo?”

“Har har. No, it was just, a gut feeling. It’s a secondary boiler room that’s walled in, but there’s a proper boiler room on the other side? And I checked all the floors but there’s no additional – look, I don’t know. I just… didn’t like you walking past it,” he admits softly, feeling a little embarrassed at his nonsensical reasoning.

Dyo doesn’t tease, though, voice all business when he replies. “How far down? Ten meters or so? On the left?”

“Um, yeah. Why? You see something?”

“Yeah, you see the little holes – wait, switch for me, to 3D,” Dyo instructs, probably having noticed his scaled down watch monitor is reflecting Kai’s 2D mode.

The navigator adjusts modes as told. In the computer-rendered video before him, he can just make out a small line of holes in the wall, spread from about ankle-to-chest height, right where the supposed boiler room is. “Yeah, I see them.”

“They don’t bother to keep patrols on this place after midnight, right? Looks like they rigged up an automated defense system here. Probably triggers on sight. No telling if it just sets off alarms or…” Dyo lets it linger. More explicit description of the possibilities isn’t needed. The spy business is inherently dangerous, and both parties know it.

“Let’s get you out of there,” Kai says after a beat of quiet.

“Sounds good, sugar.”

Kai switches back to 2D and watches Dyo make good time retracing his steps back upstairs, across the 2 nd floor, and down out the door.

“Well, I must say, it was pleasure getting to know you, shy Kai.”

It’s not so much the words but how Dyo says them that gets him hot all over again, and feeling like he’s been overly intimate with this agent. Which is ludicrous. Right? “We, we just did a mission like we were supposed to. Don’t make it sound like we crossed personal boundaries or something. You don’t know anything about me.”

“Don’t I?” Dyo sounds like he’s repacking heavy equipment as he chats, and his occasionally labored breathing is doing things to Kai’s heart rate, making him feel like _he’s_ the one getting a workout. “Let’s see, I know you’re incredibly sharp, detail-oriented beyond the requirements of even a navigator. You’re soft for the sweeter nicknames, though ‘tiger’ seemed to be a weak spot. And you probably pride yourself on being a rule-follower, a true professional, but… something tells me there’s another side in there, straining to be set loose.”

Kai stops and starts a few times, not sure what to say. Finally, he purses his lips and tries to act unaffected. “I think you may be confused about the job you applied for. Do you fancy yourself an operative or a psychiatrist, Dyo?”

“Just a guy making observations, daaarling.” The way he drawls out the ‘a’ has Kai’s knees going weak. “I hear spies should be like that, observant, you know.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” he replies uselessly. Kai starts to gather the supplies to stuff back in the black envelope, realizing they’re lingering now, still online with their headsets though the locator’s been turned off for a while. They should disconnect. He should go. It's almost 6am. Why do neither of them seem to be in a hurry to go. “Well, um, I’ll mark the mission successful.”

“Mmm, I’d say so. Hope to work with you again soon, sweetheart.”

Kai lets the line go dead before murmuring, “Me, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to indigomini for reading through this again and giving me those nice confidence boosters when I worry about my writing. As always, talk to me in the comments: I always reply <3 See you in ~2 weeks
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 3

After wrapping up the mission with Dyo, Kai works on interpreting a few other maps, drafting notes in the margins for future missions. The “In Progress” database has a seemingly endless list of blueprints in it: Sometimes, Kai thinks they must have every building in Korea in there plus half the ones in China. His contract with Prudence, Inc. states that he needs to review and annotate three per week, but Kai typically manages to get through a dozen. He was originally just seeing how many he could feasibly do in the span of seven days, but then noticed his paycheck had an extra 100,000 won the first time he exceeded the minimum requirement. He brought it up with Kris, mentioning the error, only to be told _“there were no mistakes in payroll”_ with a meaningful stare. Kai stood there with his mouth trying to formulate something other than “uhhh” before he was dismissed and quickly fled the boss’s office. (Kris’s cold stare gives him the creeps.) But point taken: Kris was happy to reward his extra effort provided he didn’t blab to the other navigators about the pay-per-map deal. He guesses it’s one of those figure-it-out-to-deserve-it things.

Kai shuts everything down later than usual. It’s 6:30am as he heads to the lobby bathroom. He removes his tie, rolls up the sleeves of his white dress shirt to his elbows, and slips on his black-rimmed glasses. A few hand ruffles through his gelled hair give it a more casual, fluffy appearance. He rolls his suit jacket up neatly into his leather satchel, and Jongin exits onto the early-morning streets of Seoul.

A couple of subway stops later, and he disembarks at the small station in his neighborhood. Jongin follows his familiar morning path up a steep hill, and pushes through the wooden door of Chateau des Chats.

A small bell announces his entrance, causing the owner to pop his head up from behind the counter along the left-side wall. “Good morning, Luhan,” he greets him with a smile.

“Morning, Jongin! You’re a tad later than usual today. I threw out your latte a little while ago. I’ll brew you another,” Luhan replies cheerily. His blond hair bounces as he busies himself with the coffee machine, moving with a swift gracefulness that complements his many cats in the room.

Jongin sits at his usual table near the front window, and waits no more than a few seconds before a young tabby cat climbs up to greet him. "Good morning, Mimi," he coos at her, giving her cheekbones gentle scratches as she tries to return the favor, nuzzling his chin and mewing out her greetings.

He stumbled across this cat café over a year ago, after a particularly rough day at work left him dreading going home to an empty house. Cat companionship sounded appealing: a warm, snuggly being to share your troubles with, who couldn’t judge you but would help defuse your stress with each pet? Yes, please. It was immensely therapeutic. He hadn’t counted on getting _human_ companionship with it, but Luhan turned out to be a lovely package blessing. The young owner had immigrated to Korea after his grandfather passed away, to help his grandmother transition and take over the family's many business ventures. In the end, she had sold them all save for the cat cafe, saying it brought her husband (and hence, her) the most joy. Luhan ran the cafe alongside her until she passed away and felt similarly compelled to keep the cafe alive. Which...

Honestly, Jongin is convinced Lu must have other assets, because aside from himself, he's only ever seen three other customers in the place. They're all regulars, and they're all present this morning as usual. There's a widow who knew Luhan's grandmother. She’s a plain, older woman who sits on the sofa in the middle, reading the daily newspaper and petting the older cats that sleep on the cat tree beside her. Two high school-aged students sit closer to the back of the cafe but at different tables. The girl prefers the kittens and will occasionally take breaks from studying/cursing calculus to play with them using the feather toy, while the boy is perpetually asleep, gray hoodie pulled up and facing away from the morning sunlight of the front windows, surrounded by required grade 2 novels that Jongin's never seen him crack open.

The one thing they all seem to have in common is an appreciation for solitude: Everyone keeps to themselves. Except for Luhan, of course. The owner brings Jongin's latte to his table and leans against the spare chair to chat for a bit.

"So, you have trouble waking up this morning?" he teases. "You could always adopt Yerin. She's _very_ punctual. Climbs on my face at 5am sharp each morning."

Needless to say, Jongin hasn't shared the fact he works late nights at a spy agency with Luhan. Or any of his friends. (Which still just boils down to... Luhan.) From her place in Jongin's lap, Mimi meows in a displeased fashion, as though she understood the suggestion that Jongin adopt a cat other than her.

"Oh don't worry, Mimi. I'm just joking. You'll always be his favorite," Luhan placates the kitty. Mimi first joined the cafe the same day that Jongin did, each of them carrying a timid melancholy with them. Luhan noticed right away that the two seemed to move and speak in the same gentle rhythm. They quickly accommodated each other, sharing an affinity for slow caresses and sunshine, and were now inseparable each morning.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late and made you waste coffee. Guess I just wasn't keeping track of time well this morning. Got... thrown off my routine a bit," Jongin explains, chewing on his bottom lip and fighting off the memories of Dyo’s smooth talking. "I'll pay for the earlier drink, too."

"Nonsense," Luhan says, waving him off. "I was starting to worry about you, though, since you’re never late.” Jongin gives him a genuine smile. It’s nice to know someone looks forward to seeing him each day. “Well, you've got your cat and your coffee, so I won't keep you from your drawings." He gives Jongin a thumbs up before heading back to his counter.

Jongin leans down to extract his scroll of paper, ruler, and a pencil from his bag. Mimi takes this as an invitation to climb atop his shoulders and bat at the hair on the back of his head. "Hey, pirate cat," Jongin chastises her. "I'm gonna need that shoulder to draw with, sweetie."

Mimi headbutts his ear and nips his sideburn but returns to his lap, turning three circles before settling in and resting her head primly on her paws. 

"That's a good girl. Go to sleep," Jongin murmurs, stroking the soft fur on her head and letting himself unwind to the steady cadence of her purrs.

He unrolls his scroll and clamps the edges to his work space. "Today, we're adding an attached bathroom to the guestroom," he says to the mostly asleep kitty in his lap. Mimi swishes her tail a few times in acknowledgment. He has a habit of talking her through his plans; it helps sometimes, just to feel heard. On the blueprint before him, he lays down the ruler to draw a compact secondary bathroom. The thin, mechanical pencil slides across the grid-lined paper in sharp, neat lines. Precision is critical in architecture, and Jongin measures the space for the shower stall twice before marking it down. 

At 22, Jongin was a proud graduate in architecture who had trouble finding a full-time position with any local firms. Everyone was looking for modern, avant-garde styling in Seoul, and Jongin's portfolio just, well, wasn't either of those things. Still isn’t. He prefers practicality and traditional influences in his designs. While this would have made him a good fit for the more rural provinces in Korea, his love for the big city kept him rooted in Seoul. As a result, he ended up working a loathsome telemarketing gig during the majority of his day and accepting small freelance jobs on the side. Now at age 25, he'd probably still be at one of those call centers if Kris hadn't found him through a renovation Jongin did for an officetel he wanted to rent out. It was a lucky twist of fate. 

Spy navigation draws upon a lot of the skills he's honed as an architect. An innate understanding of space and building construction often make his job easier. He still does an occasional side project, but he's cut way back on those now that he doesn't need the extra cash. It's more of a creative outlet for him.

Or in this case, something he's doing as a favor. His aunt wants a custom remodel of her condo so her kids will stay over more frequently.

Once he’s satisfied with the bathroom addition, he pulls out a spare sheet of paper and sketches and erases, sketches and erases, a variety of other improvements he can visualize in the condo, since they're going to remove that one wall in the living room anyway. Before he knows it, he's struggling to keep his eyes open, even with the coffee pumping through his system. Jongin carefully packs away his supplies and pulls money out of his wallet for Luhan. The owner is busy talking to the high school girl - great. He can pay for the wasted coffee, too, without confrontation.

"I've gotta go, girl," he says to Mimi, petting her a little more vigorously to wake her up. "I'll see you tomorrow, though. Like always." Jongin slides his fingers up under her collar to fluff the fur, earning a series of pleased mews from the tabby, and lifts the kitty up so he can stand. He nuzzles her pink nose several times before setting her back down on the chair.

"One of these days, you'll take her home with you. I'm counting on it!" Luhan calls from the back as he notices Jongin leaving.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see," he replies noncommittally. "Bye, Luhan!" Jongin strolls the few blocks from Chateau des Chats to his apartment building, forcing himself to stay awake by counting the cobblestones from street corner to street corner. The uneven number between blocks is indicative of how old this section of the city is; the streets aren't laid out in a symmetrical fashion. Too many haphazard alleyways interrupt the pattern of main roads. He sighs, finally reaching his building, and takes the elevator up to his fourth floor apartment.

Methodically, he gets ready for sleep. Set the keys in the dish on the counter. Hang up the suit jacket so it won't wrinkle. Slip into bed. Plug in the phone.

He notices a missed call from his mom. Ugh, he’s not up for that voicemail right now. Plus, it's 8am, too late (for his schedule) for phone calls. He should probably call her back tomorrow.

Various memories of the day flood his thoughts as he feels sleep pull him away, but the last thing he remembers is the deep voice from his headset asking, _"Are you shy, sweetheart?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to my beloved indigomini for beta'ing this <3 <3 <3 More Dyo action in the next ch. Hope you liked the insight into Nini :)
> 
> Talk to me in the comments, I always reply! :-*
> 
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	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super long chapter, 6.3k, but I was assured it's fun just the way it is so here you go

Jongin wakes to the tranquil ringtone of Yiruma’s _Love Me_ on his phone at 4:00pm. He rolls out of bed and into his robe and slippers, shuffling to the kitchen for his breakfast. Hmmm, he’s running low on convenience store kimbap and grapefruit juice. He asks Siri to add a trip to the grocery store to his errands list for the day while getting changed.

He’s ten minutes into his run on the treadmill in his building’s tiny gym before he stops sideways glancing at his phone’s blinking light. He pauses the music flowing through his earbuds and listens to his mom’s voicemail from yesterday. “Hi dear. Just checking that you’ll be here for dinner tomorrow. It’s been awhile since you’ve swung by.” Jongin snorts: only his mom would classify one week as ‘awhile.’ At least she’s self-aware, stating it with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “I swear you’re taller each time I see you these days. Are you taking the ginseng I gave you last time? Do you need more? Text me if you need anything from the store.”

He’s been living on his own since he went to university, but Jongin’s only recently tried to put a little more distance between his own adult life and his parents’, slowly scaling back from dinner three nights a week to once a week. It’s not even because he has better things to do, but more that… he’s realized he needs to _get_ some better things to do, and that isn’t likely to happen without some sort of effort on his part. God, he needs a hobby. Maybe he should look into learning magic, or bonsai pruning, or competitive ferret racing. Just… something.

He washes away the lonely thoughts in the shower and gets dressed in his black slacks, crisp white dress shirt, and glasses. Work satchel repacked and slung over his shoulder, Jongin steps out of his apartment and blends into the rush hour crowd of normal office workers all heading home. He weaves through several local stores to complete his errands and circles back to drop off the goods at his place before taking the subway to his parents’ for dinner.

It’s a comfortable meal in the cozy Kim home. Conversation flows easily as always, the only mild hiccups occurring when they inquire about work.

“Oh you know, the usual. It’s fine, like any office job,” he says, sharing the standard half-truth. Jongin has never been one to lie to his parents. He tried a few times in middle school to fake like he was going to a hagwon instead of the pool hall and always ended up admitting the truth one breath later. He justifies it to himself that keeping to Prudence Inc’s rules about secrecy isn’t _lying_ , but it still feels wrong. He quickly changes the subject to ask about the eccentric Mrs. Lee that lives next door and her perpetual battle with the pigeons trying to roost in her eaves.

While he’s washing the dishes and helping tidy up the kitchen after the meal, his mom sidles up to him. “Speaking of neighbors, do you know who I saw just the other day?” she asks with a terrible attempt at nonchalance.

“Who’s that mom?” Jongin says, avoiding eye contact and anticipating what’s to come.

“Hani. She’s working at Samsung now. Isn’t that nice?”

“Yes, that’s lovely. I’ll be sure to ask her about it if I run into her. Oh look, it’s already 9,” he says with a forced yawn and deep stretch of his arms. He squints through one eye to check if she’s buying his tired routine, and gets a thwap of damp dishtowel across his exposed sides.

“Okay, hermit. If not Hani, that’s fine, but please tell me your eyes are open to possibilities with someone, Jongin-ah.” He gives her a noncommittal hum while trying to block out the smooth, deep “ _darling_ ” that’s bouncing around in his head ( _where the fuck did that come from_ ). He starts stacking the plates in the tall cabinet while his mom dries them and hands them to him one by one. “...so how’s Taemin doing?”

His grip slips on the plate and he juggles it awkwardly, just barely preventing it from shattering on the countertop. “He’s _fine_ , he’s still in Busan, and we’re still _just_ _friends_ , ma.” His ears are turning red, he can feel them, as the most awkward moment of his high school life continues to haunt him at every turn. He’d agreed to let Tae practice his kissing technique on him so his best friend could feel more confident making the move on his crush, and of course _that_ was the perfect time for his mom to bust into his bedroom with snacks. She never brings it up directly, but always finds ways to remind him she knows (and accepts) he’s not as straight as the rulers in his satchel.

After his mom’s matchmaking inquiries are finished along with the dishes, Jongin stops by his father’s office to say goodnight and then heads out. He’s still got half an hour to kill before his shift, so he walks along the Han river and grabs some street food to reheat later for his midnight lunch.

It’s 9:45pm when he slips into the lobby bathroom to get ready for work. Jongin slides his suit jacket and tie on, tucks away the glasses, and styles his hair up with a touch of gel. He’s first to arrive on the navigation floor, as usual, and heads to the break room to scrub out the coffee pot. When he opens the cabinet door, it looks like a tea bomb went off. He has to dig through the mess of half-sorted tea bags to find the regular coffee tin and get the first batch brewing. Oh Baekhyun, why start something if you can’t finish it.

Wendy strolls a few minutes later and gives him a kind greeting on her way to her desk. She’s back less than 60 seconds later.

“Guess what I found on my desk?” she gushes out.

“Well, I’m betting it’s not 10,000 packing peanuts like on your work anniversary because you seem awfully happy about whatever it is you found.”

Wendy makes a face, remembering the prank Chen pulled that took her an hour and ten trash bags to clean up. “No. It was… a green envelope!”

“Green envelopes?” echos Baekhyun, walking in from the elevators. “Oh I LOVE green envelope days!” He claps his hands excitedly and holds one up in front of Kai’s face, begging for a high five like a geared up puppy and Kai is the one holding doggie treats. Kai rolls his eyes and slaps Baek’s cheek instead of his hand, eliciting a high pitched giggle. “Oh oh, even Kai’s excited in his own sourpuss way!” he chirrups, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him back and forth.

“You’re early today, for you,” Kai comments.

“Yeah, had a 9pm meeting. Chen, too. He’ll be here any second.”

Chen joins the break room hubbub moments later, and the mood is so lively, even Kai is admittedly feeling uncharacteristically happy about the work day.

Green envelopes indicate coordinated missions. They’re essentially in-house training exercises, whether to keep them all sharp or to try out new gadgets, it’s not clear. They are fun, but in Kai’s mind, it also implies business must be slow enough to allow for them to have everyone focus on a fake mission for the first part of the shift. It’s been awhile since their last one, though, so probably no need to worry. In any case, the green envelopes are essentially some version of an intrasquad spy competition. Which means…

“What are the stakes this time?” Chen asks, rapping his knuckles on the table. “We have to decide before we open the missions and all that.”

Because they don’t know what the teams are, or if they’re all ‘competing’ individually, each navigator gets to make a request that will get fulfilled if they or their team ‘wins.’

“I want each of you to buy a flowering plant for the break room in a pretty pot AND to water it,” Wendy wagers.

“Pfff, that’s kind of a wasted bet, don’t you think? What’s stopping you from just buying three plants yourself?” Baek asks.

“But then _I’d_ have to take care of them.”

“Touché.”

“What kind of flowers do you like?” Chen asks pretending to carefully evaluate his mug of tea. Kai tries to hide his snort. Chen, king of subtlety.

“Orchids,” she replies with an appreciative smile, putting her lunch into the fridge. “And preferably the redder-- oh what the hell, Baekhyun!” Inside what should be the vegetable drawer is a small rack, with 2 pairs of socks hanging on it.

“Refrigerated sock drawer stays if I win,” he says simply. “And I’ll have you know, only one pair of those is mine.”

Wendy gives an incredulous look at Kai, like he’s a traitor to all common sense. He shoots her a flat _please, like I’d do that_ look back, and she shifts her horrified eyes toward Chen, who quickly asks, “Kai! What do you want to wager?”

“50,000 won from each of you.”

This is met with a chorus of groans. “Oh come on, man. That’s so boring. Why cash - you know what? No more cash wagers. All in favor, say aye.”

“Aye.”

“Aye.”

Kai sighs and racks his brain for a different bet. “Um, okay fine. A rotating schedule for who cleans the coffee pot then.”

His co-workers shrug. Chen acknowledges it with a half-grimace. “Well… I guess that’s technically better than cash. Time limit, though: it can’t be an indefinite punishment.”

Kai scoffs. _Punishment_ , he does it every fucking da-- “Ok until the next green envelope appears,” he says defiantly. They reluctantly agree.

Checking the time, Kai notices it’s 10:05 already and tries to speed things along. “Okay, and what do you want Chen?” _Besides Wendy._

“One break room back massage per person, to be cashed in at the time of my choosing.”

Not a bad choice. Those damn desk chairs: they could all use a massage after what they put up with in an 8 hour shift.

Bets all placed, they start to stand up from the table when Baekhyun exclaims, “Wait! Green envelopes had me distracted. Kai - how did your mission with Dyo go yesterday?”

Wendy and Chen immediately sit back down and lean in. “Oooo, yes, this I gotta hear.”

“Do tell - I’ll probably get him for this exercise. I need to go in prepared to win that massage-- those massages,” Chen corrects.

Kai hesitates, uncomfortable with all eyes on him. “It was… fine. He, uh, he has a nice voice, I guess.”

“Oh come off it. ‘ _He has a nice voice’_ ,” Baek imitates. “That’s all you have to say?”

Kai blushes, the flood of all of Dyo’s honeyed flirt talk hitting him at once. “Yeah. I mean, you could’ve warned me about all the nicknames, though. That was a little…” _incredible, thrilling, wonderful,_ “...weird.”

“What nicknames?” Wendy asks. “I didn’t get a nickname, just a sexy, _‘You can call me Peter Pan if you want,’_ ” she informs with a shiver.

“Me neither! I mean, he called me Baek a few times, but everyone does that. Ooooo, he _likes_ you, Kai.” Baekhyun pokes him repeatedly in the shoulder with his index fingers. Kai smacks them away.

“Stop it. I don’t know, he used a few different ones. It’s no big deal. It was probably just to annoy me because I made it clear it was gross when I told him I wasn’t a--” he pulls up short, not wanting to actually share the labels. “ _Anyway_ , he’s capable and follows directions well, Chen. Though he might ask for a rationale, he’ll follow through with your navigation plan. Now come on, it’s 10:10, we need to get started. They’re probably waiting on us.” He stands and turns to leave before the interrogation can go any further.

He settles into his desk and spies the green envelope waiting for him in the tray.

_Exercise 0031_

Gingerly, he holds it in his hands and gnaws his bottom lip. There’s an odd bubble of hope. Maybe he’ll be paired with _him_. Their mission was short, they didn’t really get a lot of time to test the waters on their compatibility. As operative and navigator, of course. He slowly opens the flap and checks the briefing sheet.

Tao. Okay. Good. This is good. His chances of winning the bet probably just increased, since they work together seamlessly. This is fine. Dyo probably got paired with Chen, after all. It makes perfect sense.

So why’s he so disappointed?

Kai shakes it off and gets his computer up and running. Shit, it looks like this training mission doesn’t have them partnered with anyone: They’re supposed to protect a room and prevent any infiltration. Damn it, three on one? If he wins, he’s making sure the coffee-pot-cleaning-rotation skips him every other cycle.

Cracking his knuckles, he loads up the blueprints and studies the facility they’ll be in. Tao will need to get to the 4th floor faster than the other operatives, but maybe he’ll have a head start? At least the room he’s guarding isn’t the centrally located one. It’s only got one entrance, and it’s not an exterior room either, with a large conference room separating it from the building’s outer wall. No windows, but one ceiling vent inside, so there’s a chance someone may try to use the HVAC system. Three stairwells and one elevator bank. Kai will need to be vigilant at five different access points to this floor.

It’s a nice challenge for once. They can do this.

He turns on his headset. “Good evening. Kai here, ready to lead. Let me know when we’re a go.”

“You see this bullshit?” whines Tao on the other end of the line.

Kai laughs. “Yeah, man, I do. But we’ve got this. Did they give you anything new?”

“No! The best news I have for you is that they’ve boosted the thermal viewer, so we should be able to detect bodies in a 50% wider radius than usual. But I don’t know if that’s just for me, or if all the operatives are gonna have that tech.” Tao is murmuring something to himself in Mandarin and huffing indignantly.

Time to hype him up. “Hey, no one in the company’s on par with your combat skills. We can do this. It’s only a half hour drill. And maybe they’ll be dealing with handicaps or something. Where are you starting from?”

“Oh right,” Tao turns on his locator, and the green flashing light comes to life on Kai’s main screen. He’s stationed just outside the front door already.

“Is thermal on already, too?” Kai asks.

“Yep. I’m not getting any blips. You see anything?”

“Nope. Though the range can’t cover the whole building, it doesn’t seem like they’re inside yet nor stationed just outside this door or the west side one.” The east side entrance is unfortunately beyond the thermal detector’s reach.

“Well, I suppose that’s something. You have the fastest route picked out?”

“Almost.” Kai manipulates the blueprints on his secondary screen to evaluate each floor in turn, keeping a running total of estimated distance for three different pathways to the room. Balancing out the risk of traps that might be set along one sketchy hallway, he makes a final decision and describes the most direct path to Tao. “We ready?” he confirms before committing to the official mission _Prepared_ button.

“Ready.”

The others must have already gameplanned and locked in because when Kai clicks the button, the timer starts immediately. “Ok, go!”

Tao races through the doors and starts scaling the stairs. When he comes out on the 4th floor, he reports back, “Fuck, laser sensors in both directions from this stairwell door. Want me to duck and weave or traverse a different floor?”

“Try going up to the 5th floor and then dropping through the vent,” he audibles succinctly. He’s betting at least one of them is going to attempt that, plus it leaves the lasers as a deterrent for the next spy that tries to use their original path.

Tao is incredibly swift, already on the 5th floor and using the feeder room Kai designated to enter the HVAC tunnel that’ll lead directly into the target room. “Okay, yeah, this is the path they want them to take, I’m guessing. No obstacles that I’m seeing in here. Just a cramped space. You know if all the ops today are slim?”

“Honestly, no idea.” Kai realizes he’s never tried asking about body builds. “I don’t even know yours, Tao. Am… am I allowed to?”

Tao snorts. “Um, yeah? Other navs have asked me before. Kinda relevant for some of the work we do.”

Oh. “I guess I just never had that need arise?”

“True. I can’t recall us having one where it would’ve mattered. But yeah, relax a little on the _ask no questions, give no deets_ thing, dude,” he teases good-naturedly. “Okay I’m here.” The green light on Kai’s monitor shows him in the middle of the room. There are some metal sounds of Tao presumably replacing the grate on the vent, and then he moves flat against the wall by the one door to the room.

“Good work. I’m still not seeing anyone on radar yet,” Kai reports. “Do you have long distance weapons or just close-range ones?”

“Limited distance ones: 3 throwing stars.”

So just one shot per operative, Jongin surmises. Though the rules don’t specify if they’re automatically out if hit. And since they’d still be coming in real life unless it’s a perfect neck shot, probably best not to assume it’ll suffice.

“Okay, stay vigilant.”

“Pff, shouldn’t I be saying that to you? I’d rather not get a cheap shot to the ribs today, I’m on alert, Kai.”

The use of his alias reminds him. “Hey… is there a reason you’ve never given me a nickname?”

“Like what? We already _have_ nicknames, right? Are you telling me your name is actually Kai out in the real world?”

“No. No, I just… I figured we work together a lot and maybe we might have evolved to have… different inside joke names for each other or something?” he asks, unsure of why he’s still talking about this.

“Is there something you _want_ me to call you? Señor badass?” Tao ventures with thinly concealed amusement.

“No- I- forget it.”

“Oh no way, this is hilarious. Wait: is this because you have a pet name you’ve been wanting to call me?”

“No!”

“Aw, Compass Kai, I’m hurt.”

Kai grunts, knowing he brought this upon himself. Luckily, a red dot springs up with a ding on his main screen, cutting off this nonsensical conversation. “Stairwell intruder by the lasers, same spot you came up.”

“I see it, I see it.”

Kai hears sounds of rapidly moving air and takes that as a sign Tao is warming up his bo staff. He checks the clock: they’re halfway through the exercise. All the excitement packed into the second half, he supposes.

Whoever came through the stairwell door decided to take their chances with the lasers, and they’re apparently pretty adept at bobbing and weaving. They’re creeping relatively quickly toward the room.

“Hey,” Kai realizes suddenly. “What do you think’ll happen if _you_ set off the laser while they’re in the middle of them?”

“Brilliant!” Tao agrees. Given that there are no other threats in range right now, he quickly leaves the room, leaving the door ajar to avoid a shutting sound. Silently, he creeps down the hall.

“Throwing star,” Kai suggests. “Just in case the lasers burn on contact.” No point in potentially damaging the bo staff, and Tao doesn’t even need to be accurate. Hitting the target with his throw would just be a plus. He watches the green light pause at the edge of the hallway wall, and then he hears the throwing star zip through the air.

About a meter before it gets to the intruder, it trips a laser beam and alarms start going off. Well fuck. Just a sound alarm?

“UGH!” A frustrated female voice rings out through the headset.

“Hit her, center of the chest protector,” Tao shares with him. Kai thinks he vaguely hears Wendy curse down the hall at her workstation. Ah, probably Joy that got tagged, then. From the sounds of it, the operative is readying his bo staff in case she makes a dash for him, now that her position is obviously known, but she turns around and heads back down the stairwell. Okay, they must have some kind of reset penalty, either because of the alarm or the hit.

Another bleep coincides with the appearance of a red dot in the opposite stairwell. “Fall back to the target room!” Kai warns. He scans the other side of the building to see what tactical locations this spy might use for cover on their way to the room. Two offices and what looks like a seating nook, but there’s no telling what obstacles are on that side (if any).

Before he can suggest Tao check it out, there’s a third bleep from the thermal radar. “Last op is up in the HVAC, on the 3rd floor,” he warns Tao.

Tao puffs air into his mic twice in rapid succession. Their way of saying “Got it” when speaking aloud would be problematic during missions. Tao smartly heads back into the room and quietly closes the door behind him. He poses in between the two entry points, waiting to see who’ll arrive first.

Hallway operative is moving slowly and erratically; there must be delicate ground obstacles based on the repeated starting and stopping, like they’re having to leap from place to place.

HVAC operative is probably going to arrive first, though the path from the 3rd floor twists and turns more than the 5th floor one that Tao took. Kai relays the observation to Tao but just as he’s finished, the red light disappears.

“Wait, what? HVAC guy dropped off the radar.” He flicks to the 3rd floor’s blueprint on his secondary monitor and exams the room the operative would’ve been in. Nothing special about it. Maybe a weapons repository? Something the op thought they could use to help them fend off Tao?

While he’s trying to sort that out, the hallway spy must have cleared the obstacle because now they’re booking it Tao’s way. For good reason, too: there’s only 5 minutes left in the exercise.

“Watch the door, hallway guy is--” suddenly, the red dot disappears.

Oh shit. Cloaking device? That means... “Tao! Keep alert on the vent, I think they’ve got cloaks?”

He hears muffled Mandarin which he’d bet his week’s wages is some swear word, and then the grate is crashing to the floor. It seems to be by Tao’s doing, maybe to give him a clearer shot or be a warning to the intruder that he’s wise to his location. Sort of wise, anyway, since the red dots are still absent from their thermal detectors. Maybe it’ll give the guy pause and buy Tao some time.

Kai watches the green blinking dot shift as Tao chances a move to the door to check on the hallway assailant, and that was apparently a good guess because he hears Tao let a throwing star fly, but this one misses and clatters against something metal at the end of the hall. There’s a thud by Tao; some kind of retaliatory shot back that the operative stops with the wooden door? “Hit him and hope that’s a penalty that sends him back!” Kai suggests, knowing HVAC spy is likely gonna try to spill in any moment now. There’s a satisfying thwack on the other side of the line that sounds like a bo staff connecting with someone’s guy, complete with an “ooof,” and then Tao is sprinting back into the room.

“NOOO, SUHO, MY SOCK DRAWER!” Baekhyun laments from the other side of the floor. Perfect, now they just have to keep Chen’s HVAC creeper at bay for one more minute.

Chen’s operative. Dyo.

Kai feels himself wince at the thought that Tao might be gunning for this new op’s face if it peeks out from the vent. He freezes, unsure what to advise.

It happens too fast in the end. There’s a loud clang of Tao’s staff connecting with the HVAC, followed by a scuffle and a triumphant whoop from Chen as the clock stops at 9.9 seconds.

“Fuck! He just launched at me, Kai. That’s no fair! You should at least have to retrieve something from here, not just throw yourself right into a weapon and have it count because your body crossed the threshold,” Tao whines at the victorious spy.

Kai can’t hear the guy reply over Tao’s fussing and Chen belting a celebratory Winner song and thinking himself clever. “Tao. Tao!”

“What!” his grumpy partner fires back.

“Do you know the winning spy? What’s he look like?” What. Kai slaps a hand over his mouth. Where’d that come from.

Tao gives an annoyed, “what does it matter? Ah come on, less than 10 seconds?? Really??”

The elevator pings, and Kris walks onto the navigation floor in his slick Burberry suit and perfectly coiffed blond hair. He clears his throat and knocks three times on the entryway glass to get everyone’s attention. Kai pulls off his headset and stands, bowing to greet his boss. “Okay, okay, good work teams. Playtime’s over though. We still have missions for this evening. Sign off, incinerate, and take 5, but then I want everyone back on task.” He gives them a thumbs up and an approving head nod, and then he strolls back onto the elevator and disappears.

A professional silence falls over the floor as the navigators do as told and close out the mission on their computers. They incinerate their green envelopes in orderly fashion and fall back into the break room.

“Well, congrats and thanks for winning, Chen,” Wendy says, heading to the fridge. “At least I can do _this_ now.” She pulls the vegetable drawer open, grabs the sock rack with two fingers, holding it as far away from her body as possible, and heads toward the trashcan.

“Give it here!” Baekhyun complains, taking it from her and rescuing his socks from it. “I’ll keep the rack at my desk for now, in case anyone else wants to claim this _mysterious extra pair_ from it.”

“Well, I’d like to take all the credit, but I have to hand it to Xiumin. He was incredibly agile in the ventilation, and he was the one who realized he just had to get _in_ the room before he got hit to win,” Chen explains.

“Oh, so you didn’t get paired up with Dyo?” Kai asks. This makes sense, actually, once he thinks about it. Seems like they all got to use one of their preferred regular partners for tonight’s mission. Perhaps they really wanted to put the new cloaking tech to the test, under the most optimal conditions they can concoct in-house. Kai makes a mental note to submit a memo to Kris tonight before he leaves, so they don’t try to employ it prematurely in real missions.

“Naw, maybe I’ll get him for another job tonight. And speaking of jobs, boss seemed keen on us not dawdling on our first rounds. I’ll be cashing in those massages another time.” Chen points at each of them and walks out of the break room with a giddy spring in his step.

Sure enough, when Kai gets back to his desk, there’s a mission already in his dashboard’s queue. Before accepting it, he opens up an empty document and jots down where and when the cloaking devices failed while it’s fresh in his mind. Okay, mission time. He clicks the Begin button and reaches over to snag the plain white envelope from the chute.

_Mission 1213_

Kai pulls out the briefing sheet and scans it disinterestedly. Until his eyes land on the operative: Dyo. He got _Dyo_.

He glances around to make sure his co-workers aren’t paying any attention before letting the wide grin spread across his face. Maybe the warm feeling is just leftover giddiness from the relatively fun training exercise they just completed. Or the novelty of working with any newer operative.

Oh who’s he kidding. It’s totally because it’s Agent Dyo.

It’s a little pathetic that he gets this much satisfaction from a simple assignment with a particular operative, but whatever. He deserves a little slice of excitement in his boring corner of life right now. If that comes in the form of an unpredictable operative with an alluring-as-fuck voice, then so be it.

As anxious as he is to get on the line with Dyo, Kai makes sure to get his blueprints set up in orderly fashion first. This mission is remarkably similar to their previous one: infiltrate an unguarded facility and navigate his spy to a server room. This time, the target location is on the 3rd floor. Kai explores a few different routes before settling on one. He wets his lips and lets out a slow exhale before turning on his headset.

“Hey! I mean, good evening. Kai here, ready to lead. Let me know when we’re a go.” He squeezes his eyes shut; the first words out of his mouth, and he’s already messing up. He’s used the same opening line since day one here, why is he choking? And Dyo wouldn’t even know it was a blunder if he didn’t correct himself. Stupid stupid stupid…

“Hi again, sweetheart. You seem... excited. Missed me?” Oh God, the temptation to record this on his phone is so strong. Three sentences, and Kai already feels like putty in this man’s hand. He lolls his head back and lets the dreamy voice wash over him.

“I was surprised to see that I got assigned to you again so soon,” he admits.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that, darling?”

“You’ve had three out of the four navigators here, so we all figured you’d be working with the last guy tonight.”

“Is that so?” Dyo hums and oooh that’s a nice sound. Maybe too nice. Kai squeezes his legs shut. “So you’re talking about me, baby? And pray tell, what are you saying?”

Kai blushes. “It’s just work talk. You know, comparing notes on the new guy. Wendy says, uh, that you seem strong?” He figures that’s a tactful way to phrase her admiration over his trench digging.

“Ah,” he acknowledges. “But I want to know what _you_ are saying, sugar.”

“I said you seem capable and take direction well.”

Dyo tsks his tongue in disappointment. “That’s all? Wow, I sound like a total bore. I might have to actually turn on the charm for you, beautiful.”

Face in his hands, Kai can _feel_ the heat from his cheeks and how it’s spreading into a full body blush. They need to start the mission. It’s been several minutes on line and they haven’t said a single word that qualifies as mission briefing. He should get them back on track.

“I also said you have a nice voice.” Dammit, Jongin, what are you doing.

“Oh?” Dyo sounds immensely pleased by this admission. “What is you like about it exactly?”

Yeah, no way, there’s no safe answer to that. “We really need to get started on the mission. You’re headed to the 3rd floor, server room again, yes?”

There’s a pause, like the operative is deliberating before he responds. The familiar green indicator light pops up on Kai’s screen as Dyo starts talking again. “I might circle back to this conversation later, but okay, yes. 3rd floor server room. Walk me through the plan, tiger.”

Kai outlines his preferred route to an attentive Dyo. It’s direct, utilizing the stairwell on the far side of the building because it has one fewer bend in the staircase. “So that should save you two or three steps.”

Dyo chuckles, and this one is more fond than suggestive like the one that’s been pleasantly rumbling through Kai’s mind for the past 18 hours. (He quite likes this fond one, too.) “I'm curious - has the extra two steps ever made the difference in a mission?"

"I don't know. But if you add them all up, I've maybe saved my partners twenty, thirty minutes of time over the year."

“That’s very considerate of you… See? The sweet nicknames are _perfect_ for you, honey,” Dyo purrs at him.

Kai bites his fist to prevent himself from saying anything stupid, like _no, you’re perfect for me_ or _please, stop I’m worried I might burst into flames._

There are sounds of Dyo gearing up, hoisting equipment over his shoulder. “You ready, babe?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, slipping inside now.” The green light is on the move, and Kai tries to focus on nothing but the blinking dot and the blueprints on his screen. “No creepy death traps posing as boiler rooms this time?” Dyo asks as he makes his way up the stairs.

“Not that I can tell.” Kai triple checks the route for extra peace of mind.

“Right, I’m here already,” Dyo announces a minute later. “So, you going to keep me company while I work today, or are you going to turn back into shy Kai on me?”

He relaxes a little in his chair, eyes still trained on the monitor. Tao did encourage him to loosen up a bit, right? He’s allowed to know some things, so long as they have some pertinence to the job. He’s not comfortable inquiring about Dyo’s body build just yet, but maybe he can get to know him in other ways like…

“Are you a telecommunications expert?”

There’s a series of beeps happening in the background when the spy answers. “Gee, I wonder what would give you that idea.”

“Well I didn’t want to assume. Maybe they just gave you these first two assignments back to back because they’re easier jobs than most.”

Dyo snorts. “You saying I’m soft, sweetheart?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Nah, it’s okay. It would make good business sense, the company wanting to see how I perform under mild conditions first.” He can hear Dyo plugging and unplugging what he presumes to be various cords.

“...so you’re more than a telecommunications expert?”

The movement in the background halts, and Dyo’s tone darkens. “Oh I can be so much more, darling. If you need me to be.”

Kai covers his mic and hopes the strangled noise that’s leaving his throat isn’t audible. Has anyone ever died from pining? Maybe he’ll be the first. At least he’ll make history on his way out of this world. Not trusting himself to speak anymore, he let’s them lapse into silence.

Of course, Dyo breaks it a minute later. “You’re good at your job. How long have you been doing this, beautiful?”

“I’ve been with Prudence for a not quite a year and a half.”

“Quick learner; you seem more seasoned than that. But then again, it fits. You sound young.”

“I’m young but not _that_ young,” he says defensively. “I’m 25.” Oops, was that too revealing? “How old are you?” he fires back, wanting to regain equal footing in terms of knowing personal details.

“50.”

Kai’s jaw drops. “Really?” he asks timidly.

“No. Just wanted to hear your reaction. You’re not as appalled at a fifty year old man calling you ‘sugar’ as I would’ve expected you to be, _sugar_.”

Kai splutters a few times before he finds some words that aren’t swears. “Cut the crap - how old are you?”

Dyo laughs. “I’m 26. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re into older men.” Even without a visual on the man, Kai can tell he just winked at him.

“Shut up. I don’t like older men!” he retorts.

“Aw, that’s a pity. Can you make an exception for me? It’s just one year, babe.”

“If you were here right now, I’d throttle you.”

“I’m not into that.”

“AHhh!” Kai gives up trying to hold the frustration in, throwing his hands up in the air. “Stop it. This is so unprofessional. Are you finished in there? And so help me do _not_ turn that into a dirty joke, Dyo.”

There’s a bout of hearty laughter in his earpiece and wow. Wow, he could live a whole month on nothing but that laugh, it’s giving him so much life. FUCK. He’s smiling so big his cheeks hurt.

“Okay, okay. I’m all done, honey. Should I take the same path back outside?”

“Yes, it’s still all clear.”

An uneventful trip back down the stairs and out the back door, and they’re all finished.

“Tonight was fun,” Dyo says, turning off his locator and plunking down equipment. “Thanks for that.”

“Yeah, uh, you, too.”

“I have a confession to make.”

Kai sits up a little straighter. “What’s that?”

“You might’ve been surprised to see my name on your mission sheet tonight, but I wasn’t surprised to see yours. Know why?”

Kai bites the corner of his lip and dares to hope. “Why?”

“I like you, tiger.” It lingers in the air a second before Dyo continues. “I think you’re a top notch navigator and we communicate well, so I put in a request for you to be my primary. And it looks like it’s been granted.”

A thrill runs through Kai’s body. “Oh. Well that’s, um, that’s good,” he says tentatively, not wanting to the eagerness to burst out like a fucking Bat-Signal in the night sky.

“Turning back into my shy Kai, huh?”

“...just gathering up the mission materials for incineration.” _And trying to stop a heart attack._

“Alright, you do that. I’ll talk to you again real soon... partner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to my friend junxiety who read through this tonight, along with my beloved indigomini. I would've broken it into two ch, but then you wouldn't have seen Dyo, or would've just gotten like two lines of him, and I didn't want to go 2 chapters without my darling Soo.
> 
> A HUGE thank you to whomever submitted this to KFR? If you liked the ch, please talk with me in the comments! I always reply :)
> 
> <3 At1stsight
> 
> [Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo)| [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This GORGEOUS character poster for Agent Dyo was made by the lovely xxlostinthedragonxx - Holy Wow T_T Thank you, thank you!

When Jongin leaves work later at sunrise, it’s with a bounce in his step. He rides the subway with a goofy grin on his face, as he replays some of Dyo’s words in his mind. Partners. He’s going to get to talk to him almost _daily_. It’s the most disruptive thing that’s happened to his routine life in over a year, and it’s fabulous. What kind of luck?

He gets to the cat cafe at precisely 6:30am, and beams at the familiar sight of Luhan working the coffee machine while the other three regular patrons are all in their usual seats. This is one part of his predictable life he wouldn’t want to change; it brings him too much comfort.

“Good morning, Luhan!” he calls out cheerily as he walks in. He drops his stuff at his table by the window and gives a little bow in greeting to the old lady on the sofa. The high schoolers are busy studying and sleeping as per usual: the girl gives a little hand wave while mumbling numbers under her breath, and the boy actually has a novel opened up for once, but it lays across his face like he’ll absorb the material via osmosis during his morning nap. Mimi mews from the far corner and trots out to see him as Jongin heads over to the counter where Luhan is mid-pour of his latte.

“Hi, Jongin,” the owner greets him warmly. “You seem to be in an especially good mood this morning. Sweet dreams last night?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” he says, dropping his eyes and smiling down at the coffee cup Luhan shoves toward him. His glasses slide down his nose and shoves them back up into place while he replays some of Dyo’s compliments in his head.

“Ooo, is that a _blush_ I detect? Care to share?” Luhan asks with an eyebrow waggle. He drops his voice to whisper, “or is it not appropriate for public discussion?”

Jongin laughs and swats his friend on the shoulder. “Pervert. It’s… it’s not really like that.”

“Not really like that? So it’s a _little_ like it then.”

Jongin splutters: why is everyone backing him into a corner with his words these days? He decides to try changing the subject. “I- it’s nothing. How was your day yesterday?”

“Same as always,” he replies, waving away the inquiry. “Back to this ‘nothing’ that has you so happy. Whatever it is, I approve.” Luhan’s voice lilts up at the end, and he gives him a sickeningly sweet thumbs up, dancing his little thumbs around.

Jongin bats his hands away. “Ew, don’t do aegyo, hyung. You’re like, 30.”

“Excuse you, I’ve been told I don’t look a day over 20.”

“It’s true,” interjects the old lady, not even looking up from her newspaper. “Let him be cute.”

“Aw, thanks, halmeoni.” Luhan sends her a flying heart.

“Gross,” Jongin crinkles his nose.

“Oh talk about a double standard. I have to listen to you give Mimi aegyo almost every day.”

“That’s different. She actually _likes_ it,” Jongin claims, picking up the soft tabby that’s been winding between his legs. “And you deserve it, because you’re the most precious little furball, aren’t you?” he coos at her. “Such a pretty kitty, my Mimi girl.” Jongin makes little kissy faces at her while Luhan pretends to gag.

Mimi headbutts his cheek and purrs into his ear, grooming his sideshaved hair with her scratchy tongue. Jongin cradles her into the bend of his left arm, letting her front paws drape over his shoulder like one might carry a toddler. He grabs his latte with his free hand and turns to head to his table.

“You want help setting up your drawings?” Luhan offers. “I don’t think she’s gonna be too happy if you put her down right now.” Mimi has already laid her chin down on his shoulder, fully relaxed onto Jongin’s broad chest.

“Nah, I might just visit with her today.” He puts his coffee down on his table and settles into his chair. The sun is just clearing the hill outside, and the warm rays on Jongin’s skin make him smile. “This is the best spot to bask, isn’t it, princess?” he murmurs to the tabby, letting his eyes close and enjoying the warmth of his pet and the sunshine.

“I swear you have more feelings for that cat than you do for me,” Luhan pouts.

“Maybe if you ditched the aegyo you’d make for better company than her.”

He hears chair legs scrape across the floor and cracks an eye open to witness Luhan plopping down at his table. The blond has a mischievous smirk on. “Okay then. Only serious talk today.”

Oh no. He’s opened the door to meaningful discussion and Luhan is sauntering right through it, probably straight into his private life and-

“So tell me about work.”

Jongin sighs. “I’m on the phone the whole time. It’s really not that exciting.” _Most of the time._

“How’s your family?”

“My parents are fine. I saw them last night for dinner.”

“Gone on any dates lately?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be working right now? What if your customers need something?” Jongin takes a deep swig of his coffee, trying not to cough because it’s still hot enough to burn as it slides down his throat. If he finishes it fast enough though, he can make Luhan fix him another one and end this interrogation.

“Ah, there are great perks to being your own boss. No one to yell at you if you decide to slack off for a little. But I’d argue that I’m giving my customers _exactly_ what they need right now.” He gives Jongin a firm, but caring look.

Jongin looks away first, turning to kiss the now sleeping kitty passed out on his shoulder. “No, I haven’t had a date in a while.”

“Then don’t you think it’s time you get back out there? It’s been more than a year right? I know it was hard, and she really messed you up bad--”

Jongin snorts and shakes his head. Despite how many times he’s denied it, Luhan just won’t give up on his theory that the first day he showed up in the cat cafe, he was depressed because he’d been dumped. “You have no idea how off you are,” he tells him, finishing the last of his latte.

“... _he_ really messed you up?” Luhan leans in and asks quietly, with an encouraging tilt of his head to indicate he passes no judgment.

“Still not what happened last year. But…” Jongin gives a barely perceptible nod to acknowledge the pronoun amendment, and looks out the window. More workers are slowly starting to spill onto the main street a block over. He watches them, wondering if Dyo might be out there among them, on his way home, quietly blending into the crowds. Or more likely smooth talking the ahjumma at the fruit stand into giving him a discount on his produce. Jongin smiles to himself.

“There’s that look again.” Luhan’s eyes light up, and he snaps his fingers. “You’ve got a _crush_.”

Jongin purses his lips. “Maybe.”

“Does he know?”

He gives a small shrug, disturbing Mimi who gives a sleepy mew but settles right back into dreamland with a few reassuring shushes and pets. “Probably. But don’t get too excited. It’s not… it’s just a flirtation. It’s not going anywhere.”

“ _Yet_.” Luhan points at him, looking immensely pleased.

Jongin gives him a half-smile. No point in shattering his friend’s dreams for him with his sober realities; he lets Luhan hope.

\---

He slumbers peacefully, wakes on time, and finishes his run on the treadmill earlier than usual, so he works in extra reps with the barbells. It’s satisfying, getting stronger, but Jongin doesn’t want bicep curls to end up being his hobby. Maybe he should stop by the library and grab a book, any book, before work today.

That plan falls by the wayside when his mom calls with another remodel request for him, this time for one of her friends in her knitting circle. Jongin agrees to a meeting for next week and sets out his drafting materials while still on the phone to complete his aunt’s project.

“You know dear, I bet you could start your own company. I pull in enough contacts for you that you could likely make a living off of it, if you’d just charge them a fair price instead of doing things at a discount for them all the time.”

“First of all, they probably ask for me _because_ of that discount, mom. And your friends will eventually run out of renovation projects. I can’t redo Mrs. Cho’s condo every year.”

“I have a lot of friends, Jongin-ah.”

“And I have a full-time job, mom. With retirement benefits.” And a pretty nice life insurance policy, since spies are apparently partial to that perk.

“Okay, okay. You just never like talking about it, and I thought you wanted to do more architecture. Get away from the phones and all that.”

“My job has... gotten better of late.” It’s true, even while at Prudence, he’d continued to flirt with the idea of one day breaking off and doing the pure career he had trained for. But now, with the increased camaraderie among the navigators and a certain deep-voiced partner… “Work is actually pretty fun. Ah, speaking of which, I gotta go.”

“Go? You haven’t left work yet? But it’s almost 7pm.”

Right. “Um, yeah, I was just finishing up. I’m leaving soon.”

“I don’t like you working these late hours, Jongin-ah. That’s not good for your health or sleep cycle.”

If she only knew. “I’ll be alright, mom. Talk to you later.”

\---

When Kai comes off the elevator and sees all three of his co-workers in the break room already, he freezes and double checks his watch. And then checks his phone just to make sure his watch isn’t running slow. Nope, all sources confirm, it’s 9:45pm.

“You’re all here early,” he remarks, surprise clear in his tone.

“What, you think you’re the only one who shows up before they’re required to?” Baekhyun snarks back at him.

“Well, to be fair, he is,” says Chen, seated in a chair with his jacket off and a slightly too-tight dress shirt on. Kai’s about to question what the hell is going when he notices Wendy’s gaze lingering on Chen’s defined chest as she puts her food into the fridge. “I’m collecting my massage from Baek, as per yesterday’s win,” Chen explains.

The tight dress shirt and reason to show it off was actually… kinda smooth for once. Kai inclines his head in respect before muttering to him, “Make sure you don’t pop any buttons there, Superman.”

Chen flicks Kai’s ear, eliciting a loud yelp. Baekhyun gets to work on his shoulders, kneading them vigorously with his lithe hands.

“Isn’t it beautiful, Kai?” Wendy beams at him, keeping the door open for Kai to put his food inside. Chen pouts in their direction as Wendy grabs Kai’s arm with exaggerated glee. “A sock-free fridge.”

Kai chuckles at her shade while Baek sticks his tongue out at them. “So why were you early today?”

“Chen and I had a meeting with some supervisors.”

“How come everyone’s having meetings with the higher-ups lately but me?” he asks, frowning. Is he in some kind of trouble?

Chen lets out a few happy moans as Baekhyun works on a particularly bad knot near the base of his neck. “Naw, there’s just a big mission coming up. Can’t really talk about it, of course, but they started briefing me the other day and realized we need more than one navigator on it, so I suggested Wendy be brought in.”

“Of course you did,” Kai says, loud enough to be heard over his washing of the coffee pot. Chen shoots him a _don’t screw this up for me_ look.

Wendy turns to Baek with an inquisitive look. “And you? You’ve been early twice in a row. Is everyone in your life sick of you by 9pm these days? One can hardly blame them.”

“I have had meetings of my own, thankyouverymuch,” he sasses back. “Which are confidential, naturally.”

“Okay,” she says with a suspicious glare. “I’m going to get set up at my desk. See you guys later.”

Kai finishes setting the coffee to brew. “You should’ve just taken off the dress shirt and had him massage you in your undershirt, claiming you don’t want that one to wrinkle,” he advises Chen before walking off. Behind him, he hears Chen slap the table and grunt out a _“dammit, he’s right.”_

Kai turns his computer on and sees his first mission already queued up. He catches the plain envelope as it slides down the chute and pulls out the contents. He squeezes his eyes closed, murmuring a little wish, before peeking an eye open and checking the briefing sheet.

“Yes!” he celebrates quietly with a small fist pump, seeing Dyo’s name on the paper. He eagerly gets his headset on and fumbles with the switch.

“Hey! It’s me.” He doesn’t bother trying to contain the joy in his voice; Dyo always susses it out in no time anyway.

That gorgeous chuckle Kai has come to love in so little time reverberates over the line and straight down his spine. “ _‘Hey, it’s me?’_ ” Dyo imitates. “What happened to _‘Good evening, Kai here.’_ Am I not worth the professionalism anymore, darling?”

Kai covers his mouth in embarrassment and then grabs for a response. “Maybe I’m more relaxed with my regulars.”

“Oh I like the sound of that, it’s... promising.” The mischievous tone has Kai’s stomach in knots already. “But I can’t hear you as well tonight, baby. Is something wrong with your mic?”

Considering how many times Kai has had to cover it, flip it up, or otherwise yank it away from his mouth as sharply as possible to muffle his squeals, Kai wouldn’t be surprised if there was something wrong with it. “Sorry,” he apologizes, pulling it closer to his lips and turning up the volume a little. “Ah ah ah,” he says as a mic test. “Is this good?”

“So good, sugar.”

Oh God, they haven’t even gotten started yet, and Kai junior is already taking an interest, requiring him to shift in his chair. “This mission’s a little more complicated,” he says, trying to shift his attention to the blueprints that are opened in a haphazard dump on his screen. Dammit, he was so anxious to get connected with Dyo, he didn’t do his usual pre-planning this time. _Get it together._ He can’t screw this up, for Dyo’s sake and his own. He doubts Kris would take _‘Sorry, my partner’s voice gives me a raging boner’_ as a valid excuse for a botched operation.

Luckily, the operative seems willing to focus, too (for now). “Yeah, I noticed they’re not handling me with kid gloves anymore. I’ve seen two different guards on patrol outside the building here already.”

Kai’s instructions are to lead his agent to two different locations inside the facility. Expected time for mission completion is around five hours, significantly longer than most jobs. Kai shivers, both thrilled and terrified at the idea that he’s going to be spending such an extended time on the line with this man who keys him up so easily. It’s a miracle he hasn’t combusted in the one hour missions he’s done with him so far.

“You okay over there, sweetheart?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m just trying to figure out which order of targets makes the most sense. Sorry, I should’ve done this before I called in.” Kai flips between floor layouts, making mental calculations and keeping an eye on the security stations on each level.

“Take your time, babe. We’re in no hurry. I’ll wait patiently for you.”

“Thanks,” he replies, deep in concentration. Which is promptly broken two seconds later when he hears humming.

It’s a soft, low purr, and it stops Kai dead in his tracks. Dyo’s vocal color matches perfectly with the melody he’s chosen to bless with his voice. The richness of his tone has never been more evident.

“You sing,” Kai says dumbly, mouth agape. Of _course_ he does. Like he wasn’t already weak as fuck to this guy and then he turns out to be a crooner, which is only near the top of Jongin’s fantasies for his dream guy.

“Just in my spare time. Am I distracting you, tiger?”

“...yes.”

Dyo chuckles again. “So direct today. I love it. Do you want me to stop, honey?”

“If you’d like to avoid a brawl with security tonight, then yes, I suggest you stop. For now,” he can’t help but amend.

“Anything for you, partner,” comes the velvety reply. Kai feels his heartbeat quicken and a whimper threaten to escape his lips. No. Focus. There’s actual danger here tonight.

With this in mind, Kai gets back to work on diligently mapping out the route. To Dyo’s credit, he keeps quiet as requested. After Kai goes over the plan with him, he repeats back the highlights.

“Wait - before we get started, keep in mind you probably can’t talk much inside,” Kai warns. “You know, with all the security. So, I’ll do most of the talking, and just blow in the mic once for no, twice for yes, and three times for help with more directions.”

“You want me to blow, huh?” Dyo’s sultry voice has Kai flipping his mic up again out of habit. Thank God this sexy fucker isn’t going to get to talk for most of the mission or Kai might just bust a nut right at his desk. These few minutes of pre-gaming are dangerous enough as is.

He decides to ignore the provocation. “Are you ready to get started?”

Buckles are snapping into place on the other side of the line as Dyo gears up. “Almost. I have a request first. Play a game with me, darling.”

“What kind of game.”

“How about Twenty Questions? You can come up with the category, like cities or ice cream flavors. I’ll pick something in the category, and then you get twenty questions to try to figure out what it is.”

“Wha… right now??” As much as Kai would love to just hang out with Dyo like this, they’ve got a mission to do.

Dyo giggles at him. (That’s a first, and it’s fucking adorable.). “No, baby. I mean while I’m in the building and can’t talk. You don’t really want to sit there in silence for hours on end, do you? And I can just blow my yeses and nos, right?”

“Oh, okay. Sorry, it’s been awhile since I played. I forgot it was just yes or no questions,” Kai admits sheepishly.

“Aww, no one’s been playing with my shy Kai? Well it’s a good thing you have me then. I--”

“Don’t say it,” Kai interrupts.

“Don’t say what?”

“ _I’ll play with you all you want_ , or something to that effect.”

There are full-blown hoots of laughter this time. Oh my God, who would believe that Dyo could have such a dorky laugh in him? “That’s better than what I was gonna say, damn,” he admits through his guffaws.

Kai bangs his forehead on his desk a few times, but he’s laughing at himself, too. “Okay, seriously, though. We need to get started.”

“Right. My locator and thermal detector should be live for you, sweetheart.”

Kai affirms it, watching the green blinking light on his monitor and seeing the various red ones that mark the security guards outside the building and on much of the first floor here. Their timing is going to be important tonight. “Okay, when I give the signal, go to the first checkpoint we agreed upon. I’ll halt you if I notice any guards are going to overlap with the path. Trust me?”

“You bet, partner.”

“Okay, wait for this one to get past the corner and… now!” Kai cues him and watches Dyo flit from outside the building to the back door and silently slip inside. He makes it to the first checkpoint without any trouble, and then on to the first target location shortly thereafter.

He can hear Dyo unbuckling equipment in the server room and relaxes minutely. There aren’t any security guards on this floor patrolling right now. So he’s confused when he hears three puffs of air in his headset.

“Um, you’re in the right spot, Dyo? According to my instructions anyway.” Kai frowns, checking the mission briefing again.

There’s a light sigh, and then a series of three, no four, no five, wait what? Twenty puffs of air. OH. Right. Their game.

“Sorry, sorry. Okay let me think of a category. Um… okay how about animals?”

Two puffs of air signifies Dyo is ready to start. That was quick.

“Uh, is it domesticated?”

One puff. The familiar electronic beeps are going in the background.

“Does it live in a warm climate?”

One puff.

“Is it bigger than a cat?”

Two puffs.

“Is it bigger than a sheep?”

Two puffs.

“Is it… a bear?”

Two puffs.

“Yay, I won in five questions, that’s pretty--”

One haughty puff interrupts him.

“But you said… oh you jerk, I have to guess which kind of bear?” Kai can hear Dyo’s quiet laughter, coming out in soft breaths into his mic. “You’re one of _those_ players, I should have known.” He gives an exaggerated sigh, but he’s wearing a huge grin even as he tries to think of all the kinds of bears he knows.

“A black bear.”

One puff.

“A polar bear.”

One puff.

“A grizzly bear.”

A pause before a reluctant double puff.

“Yes! Ha, even with your dodgy crap, I still got it in under ten guesses,” Kai taunts.

There are still no red lights detected on this floor; security must be numerous but lax here. Dyo must have noticed, too, because he breaks his silence to reply, smile evident in his voice. “Someone sure is competitive. Not so sweet once you’re in game mode, huh sugar?”

“I’ll have you know I was top of my class-”

“I have no doubt, babe.”

“-and you don’t get there by playing nice with people willing to play _dirty_ , mister.”

“Oh so I’m dirty now, am I? Should I show you just how-”

“Shhh,” Kai shushes him, mostly just because he can. He ignores the burning blush on his cheeks and jumps eagerly back into the game. “Okay, let’s go again. New category.”

They keep playing as Dyo does his surveillance work, breaking only to move from one server room to the next. Kai gets a little bolder with his chosen categories, adding words like “Favorite” to the front of them. (What’s it matter if he knows Dyo’s favorite color is black, food is jjajangmyeon, and month is January? Surely that’s harmless.)

All’s been quiet on the security front, and Dyo breaks his silence again after that last round. “Favorite month? What the hell, there are only twelve months? I’d be impressed if you managed to screw that one up, smarty pants,” he tsks at him.

“Yeah, but I still got it in less than six guesses, so that’s statistically better than average. So there.” Kai sticks his tongue out even though Dyo’s not there to see it.

“You are _petty_. You’re lucky you’re beautiful,” Dyo says with fake menace.

“You’re just sore that you’ve only won twice. What’d you pick as the best anime and best movie, by the way?”

“Oh no you don’t. You lost. When it comes to those, you’ll just have to wonder about me, sweetheart.” The seductive purr is back in Dyo’s voice, and Kai is back to pining in the blink of an eye. (Though… had he really stopped at any point? He’s literally hanging on the guy’s every breath.)

The five hours fly by, and before he knows it, he’s leading Dyo down the northeast staircase to exit the building. Except security decides it’s finally time to do their job.

“Shit, wait there on the 2nd floor landing a moment,” he orders Dyo. The green light stalls in place, Dyo tucking himself back against the wall. _Don’t open the door, don’t open the door,_ Kai mentally commands the guard approaching the stairwell. “Fuck, be ready, guard looks like he’s coming your way,” he warns.

Sure enough, the security guy opens the door. Dyo is concealed behind it, and Kai’s pulse is sky high as he watches to see how his partner handles it. Dyo prefers a wait and see approach, which seems wise, since the guard lingers on the landing, holding the door open, and maybe just doing a cursory inspection of the stairwell. But then he steps further in, and the door starts swinging shut.

It happens so fast, Kai doesn’t have time to even yell. Dyo lunges for the guard, and the only noise Kai hears is the sound of shoes scuffling on the floor. He holds his breath and watches the red and green lights overlapping each other on the monitor. The good news is that it doesn’t seem like the guard is able to call in any of his buddies for backup, as the red light on the floor below them continues to remain in place in the security room on the far side of the building. A few seconds of soft grunting sounds and then Kai can breathe again.

“Neutralized,” Dyo pants quietly over the line.

“Go now!” Kai relays. “It’s clear from here to the exit.”

Dyo wastes no time, dropping over the railing and landing lightly on his feet before slipping out of the stairwell and out the back door.

“Are you hurt? Do you need a transport? You need to get as far away from there as you can, as fast as possible, Dyo.” Kai is speaking rapidfire, worried the guards might discover their missing pal and come pouring out of the building at any moment.

It sounds like Dyo is running near top-speed, gear bouncing against him, as he responds. “I’m okay, don’t worry, tiger.”

“Don’t ‘tiger’ me right now! You could’ve-- I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I should’ve taken you a different route. There was another that was almost as short and I--”

“Hey, calm down. Everything’s okay, darling.” He’s not running anymore, voice warm and steady as he tries to soothe Kai.  “I’m not hurt, I’m almost to my car, and the guard will be fine, too.”

This is all a relief. Kai was just about to ask if they need to get their police contacts involved in case there was a… casualty. “What did you do to him?”

“Just choked him out. You helped me get the jump on him; I got the pressure on before he could really fight back. He’s already awake, I’m sure.” A car door shuts and an engine comes to life in the background. “Turning off my locator now.” The green light goes out on Kai’s screen, but it was already rapidly moving away from the scene by the time it turned off.

Kai has his face in his hands, elbows leaning on his desk, as he regains his composure. He’s had several missions with Tao where his agent had to confront people, and he didn’t get this worked up. Then again, combat is Tao’s specialty. All this stress… it must be because he doesn’t yet understand Dyo’s strengths and weaknesses, that’s all.

“You okay there, partner?” Dyo asks sincerely.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”

“You already did, babe. You did great - I feel very taken care of, okay? Don’t sweat it.”

There’s silence for a minute, the two of them just sitting on the line together.

“I told you, I’m not _just_ a telecom guy.” The lightheartedness in Dyo’s joke works in lessening the tension.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean for my… reaction to sound like I don’t have faith in your other operative abilities.”

“No, it’s fine. I appreciate you worrying. It’s nice… to have someone worry over me.” Dyo’s tone is so soft and vulnerable, Kai really wishes he could look him in the eye to convey his sincerity when he replies.

“Of course. We’re partners, and that’s what partners do.”

They stay connected while Kai closes out his files and gathers the mission materials back up. He’s got another mission waiting for him on his dashboard.

“I have to go,” he says reluctantly. “There’s another mission in my queue.”

“Ah, I forgot. You get me all to yourself, but I have to share you with another guy.”

Kai blushes. “I mean, I technically still have two other regulars. I think.”

“Ouch, twist the knife further,” Dyo jokes. Then in a softer voice, “Go. I’ll talk to you again soon, sweetheart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Massive kudos to Indigomini for talking with me about my next several planned chapters and helping me work through what I actually wanted to do in this difficult middle ch. She's a saint, was incredibly patient beta'ing this, and I love her so much <3 I told several readers that this ch would be rated M, but then I needed to work other things in here, oops. Forgive meeee.
> 
> Hope you liked their relationship development in this ch. <3 Talk with me in the comments!
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
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	6. Chapter 6

Kai is distracted the rest of the shift, still rattled by his mission with Dyo and trying to unpack why. It’s not like he’s never navigated for a dangerous mission before. Hell, right now he’s working a case with Lay that has the agent moving from one rooftop to another through a neighborhood via balancing on wooden planks, and Kai doesn’t even break a sweat from it. Sure, Lay has great balance, but he should still have  _ some _ inkling of fear from all this highwire walking his agent is doing, shouldn’t he?

“Hey, Lay. You ever been injured from these missions that have you up in the air or scaling elevator shafts and stuff?”

“Why would I get injured?”

“I don’t know, from falls?” Kai has never lead a mission where Lay had to get into direct hand-to-hand combat, but there have been plenty of operations that capitalized on his climbing abilities (and disturbingly absent respect for heights).

Lay chortles at him as he places another wire tap on a housetop. “Uh, in the future, if you could  _ not _ bring up falling when I’m on roofs, I’d appreciate it.”

“Sorry!”

“But, as to your question, nothing more than a tweaked ankle. And don’t worry - I’m a quick healer.”

Kai lets the topic drop and sticks to routine navigation. He’s been working with Lay since almost the beginning of his time here at Prudence, yet he’s never once tried to push the boundaries or play games during missions. And it’s not like he isn’t fond of Lay: he is. But why is everything so… different with Dyo? He’d blame it all on the operative’s tantalizing voice and flirty demeanor, but Kai knows that  _ he _ acts differently, too, whenever he has Dyo on the line. Only three days together, and he already feels closer to him than Lay or Tao.

Kai frowns. Maybe he’s not being fair to his other guys. Maybe he should at least try to get to know them a little better?

“Lay, do you mind describing your physique to me?”

“You’re being weird tonight,” he comments, a neutral observation rather than a judgment.

“I realized the other day that I don’t know any of my operatives’ body builds, and I was told that could be useful info in some missions. So… I’m asking everyone now.” Reasonable. This is a totally reasonable way to get to know each other better, right? And not at all motivated by his desire to know what Dyo’s bod is like, nope, not even a little.

“Sure, okay. I’m 177cm, about 64kg, broad in the shoulders, fairly proportional in legs and torso. Anything else?”

“No that’s good, thanks. I’ll keep it in mind. You’ve got just one target left,” he shifts back to the mission.

“Not so fast. What about you?” Lay asks. “It only seems fair that you share your build, too. I mean, what if you’re radically different from me? How am I supposed to expect you’ll understand what it’s like to deal with my body type?”

Kai grimaces, but concedes he has a point. “I’m… a little taller, a little heavier, and more legs than torso, I suppose. But on the whole, sounds like not  _ that _ much different.”

“Huh,” Lay sounds surprised. “I don’t know why, but I figured you’d be a shorter dude.”

“Just because I work in the office?”

“No. I mean, partly, I guess. But also because… well, you’re a quieter, more subdued type.”

“Tall people are loud and brash?”

“No. Well, there’s this one guy I hang with, Chan-- Actually, never mind,” Lay stops mid-thought. This may be toeing the line of getting too personal. Kai feels it, too. 

They finish out the mission smoothly, and Kai notices he still has a half hour before his usual quitting time. He pulls up the “In Progress” database of maps and gets to work annotating a new blueprint at the top of the list. There’s not much to do for this one, though, as it’s very sparse, only the lobby, an elevator bank, one hallway, and one office mapped out. It’s like they only have info from someone visiting the building a single time, which is typically too early to bother adding it to the database for notes. There’s a second map that’s similarly empty with only a few rooms marked out, but the notes mention it’s a ten-story building. Odd, but it makes for quick work. Kai makes limited remarks and best guesses based on the frames provided, and then signs off, ready to transform back into Jongin and leave work.

He goes through the rest of his early morning routine, a little more subdued than usual at the cat cafe. Luhan doesn’t press him for why he’s carrying the concerned face around after his first question is dodged with a terse, “I have a tight deadline for my latest project.” Luckily, he does finish his aunt’s condo blueprint, giving her a call with the news as he bids Mimi goodbye with extra scratches behind her ears.

He should be exhausted, adrenaline all spent in the stressful end of his mission with Dyo, but he tosses and turns in bed, still keyed up. What ifs keep running through his overly analytical mind. What if that security guard hadn’t been alone. What if Dyo hadn’t been able to choke him out quickly enough. What if the confrontation only happened in the first place because he was distracted, too busy fawning over Dyo and playing Twenty Questions to satisfy the innate craving he has for this operative.

Jongin flops onto his stomach and sighs into his pillow. Maybe he’s being selfish, indulging himself. He’s playing with fire, and he needs to get pull back. Before Dyo gets burned.

\---

The alarm goes off, but Jongin was already awake. He never really hit that restful REM sleep that he needs; oh well. Life demands he rise, so rise he does. Workout, breakfast, shower. Still a few hours to kill before work.

He does get to the public library today. A kind librarian offers to help him, probably noticing how he’s wandering aimlessly through the stacks. Jongin has no idea where to even start.  _ Pick a hobby, any hobby. _ “Uh… astronomy section?” he asks, just to have something to say.

The guy cheerfully leads him to the other side of the building and down a floor. (Great, of course, Jongin would pick something totally unrelated to where he was so that he looks completely incompetent.)

“Second aisle to the right, and straight on til morning,” the librarian says, pointing to some bookcases over aways.

“Um… okay. Thanks,” Jongin replies, a little perplexed.

“Sorry. Lit humor. It’s a play on Peter Pan’s words,” the guy explains.

Jongin nods uncomfortably, and the librarian leaves him in peace after giving him a final weird look. This is why he could never do sales or anything that really required face to face conversations with people; he sucks at human interaction with strangers. He needs a phone line and a few dozen miles between himself and someone new.

After looking methodically through several astronomy reference books that seem too detailed and beyond his interest level, he settles on a Stargazing 101 book that’s slimmer and has an equal ratio of pictures to text. Key constellations, bullet-pointed facts and tips for locating them, all neatly organized. Yes, this one will do.

Opting for an ‘early’ dinner at 9pm, he buys some chicken skewers from a street vendor as he walks along the Han river. Jongin settles onto a bench in a quiet area, cracking open the book and reading the introductory pages, explaining how ship navigators used the stars to judge distance. A few attempts at peering between the picture of Polaris and the night sky above Seoul, and Jongin’s pretty convinced he’d be a shitty navigator if he was born in the 1500s. But eventually, he finds what he thinks is the North Star.

A bright spot in the otherwise hazy night sky.

He drags his feet to the office, puts on his tie and jacket in the lobby restroom, and heads up to work. The light ping of the elevator’s arrival echos through the space as Kai enters a quiet navigator floor. No commotion today, lights still off in the break room. He flicks them on, washes the coffee pot, and starts the first batch. The machine groans, and he has to slap the sides a few times to get the brew to start trickling out.

Kai leans against the counter and tries to expel his somber mood with a few deep sighs. An iced coffee for once sounds good. He goes to check the freezer to see if the ice cube tray has been filled and--

“Don’t say a word!” Baekhyun barrels out of the elevator and into the break room. He slams the freezer door shut in front of a startled Kai. “You saw nothing.”

“Okay…” Easy enough, given that Kai really  _ did _ see nothing in the half-second glimpse he had into the freezer. “Uh, I don’t know what kind of organs you’re hiding in here to sell on the black market, but I need some ice cubes?”

“Later.” Baekhyun stays between Kai and the fridge, leaning back against the freezer door with arms splayed dramatically across it.

Kai opens his mouth to protest, but it’ll take awhile before his coffee will be chilled enough to serve anyway, so he rolls his eyes. “Fine, but at least tell me if there are going to be some in there when I come back later or if  _ someone _ forgot to fill the tray again.”

Baekhyun considers this and turns around to crack the door open no more than a few centimeters, peering inside. “I have a visual on ice,” he confirms, rapidly slamming the door shut. “Now let’s move along.”

Kai finishes transferring some of the freshly brewed coffee into a mug and wiggles it in front of Baekhyun. “Excuse me, fridge warden, I just need to put it in the chilled section. No freezer funny business.”

Baek eyes him warily. Out of patience, Kai gestures as if to backhand the sassy navigator, and he scatters to the side so Kai can put the mug inside the main fridge.

Wendy and Chen arrive, stepping out of the elevator together laughing about something. Kai looks at Chen expectantly.

“We had a meeting. About the big operation later in the month,” he explains with a broad grin. Wendy nods, tucking her hair behind her ears shyly.

“Oh! It’s already 10pm. I’m heading to my desk,” she waves at the them and passes by the break room. Chen follows after her.

Baekhyun breathes a sigh of relief and then wrenches the freezer open. To pull out socks.

“Seriously?”

“As long as they’re in there by 9:40pm, they’re ready. And Wendy never checks the freezer. It’s a peaceful solution, don’t fuck this up for me,” Baek says with a finger to his lips.

“Wait,” Kai reaches out to snag him back the back of the jacket collar as he passes by. “Are you getting here early every night just to have cold socks?” he asks incredulously.

Baek chuckles. “No. I’m not that enamored with fridge feet; I have my other reasons,” he says elusively before strutting out of the room, socks concealed inside his suit jacket like they’re secrets to the Bermuda Triangle. That fucker is up to something...

Kai knows he’s dawdling, but he’s nervous about who he might have his first mission with tonight. And how he’s going to act around him. He wipes the break room surfaces down to stretch out the time as long as he dares before going to his desk. 10:05pm.

He lets the mission envelope fall all the way down into the delivery tray, eyeing it uncomfortably. It’ll be fine. He’ll be cordial but professional. It’ll be fine.

Oh. It will. Because it’s only a mission with Tao.

Kai’s instructions only tell him that Tao may need to be navigated into and out of a storeroom multiple times. Kai snorts. Sounds like his agent is going to be clearing them out of property, something fairly bulky or at least numerous enough that he won’t be able to do move it all at once.

Floorplans set up in orderly fashion, Kai puts on his headset and connects with his operative. “Good evening, Kai here. Let me know when we’re a go.”

“Yo. Ready to help me ‘recover’ some stuff?” Tao is ready to get straight to business.

“There are dozens of people around,” Kai reports, watching the red lights all over his monitor.

“Yep. I’m blending in today, too many to try to sneak past the old fashioned way.”

Hmm. That changes Kai’s original plan. Makes it simpler, for the most part. “Okay, so you’re going to slip in disguised as one of them?”

“That’s the plan. Suit over the usual getup. It’s hot as fuck right now; I’m eager to get moving,” Tao whines.

“But you might need multiple trips in and out?” Kai verifies.

“Yeah, it’ll depend. I won’t know until I’m at the target location.”

The room of interest is in the corner of the 2nd floor that overlooks a back alley. Only the 2nd floor… “Do you have rope?”

“A coil of thin cable. All I can carry without it looking conspicuous through the outfit.”

That should work. “Okay, I’m thinking you go in the respectable way, then in and out through the second story window if you need multiple trips, because the more you wander the halls, especially entering and exiting the same room multiple times, the more likely you are to get caught,” Kai reasons.

“Good thinking. I’ve got you only on earpiece, so don’t expect anything but taps once I’m inside.” Tao tests it by drumming a finger against his earpiece, sending Kai two dull thudding sounds in lieu of their usual puffs for silent communication.

No puffs. Suddenly, memories of Dyo from yesterday come back, unbidden.  _ “You want me to blow, huh?”  _ Kai shakes his head to clear it. F o c u s. “Just taps, gotcha.”

Tao suavely enters the building, heels confidently clacking against the linoleum flooring as he strides right to the target location with Kai directing him and keeping an eye on the security room, where three red lights sit stationary. The guards could be monitoring cameras or maybe sleeping, they’re so still.

Inside the storeroom, Tao is rifling through cabinets. “Found ‘em. There are four. I can’t walk out with all of them; they’ll be spotted.”

Kai contemplates this. “But you could physically carry all four, if you didn’t have to worry about being seen?”

Tao huffs at him, offended. “Yes, what kind of weakling do you take me for? See, this is why you need to know our builds.”

“It’s not an issue of being  _ weak, _ ” Kai counters. “I have no idea what you’re carrying! My mission brief doesn’t say.”

“Oh okay, okay.”

“But now that you bring it up, go ahead and tell me your body bui-- Wait. No, first, the plan. Can you lower all four of the whatevers out the window using your cable? My blueprints say there should be bushes down below for cover.”

“The Whatevers? Let’s call them toasters. And no, these are very sensitive toasters. I need to handle them with more care than that. I can, however, hand deliver them down below and rest them gently on the ground. Two at a time will work.”

Kai hears fabric rustling on the other side of the line, probably protective wrapping for the ‘toasters.’ He watches the many people milling about in the building, security guards indistinguishable from mundane workers. Luckily, there are none in the room directly below Tao. “You’re clear to go now.”

The spy floats down the cable, presumably with two of the items, and stops behind the bushes. Now he just has to climb back up. Kai watches as the security den continues to show three immobile red dots.

Tao scales the outside wall deftly, pulling himself back into the room in no time.

“So I’ve always assumed you were on the thin side?” Kai ventures.

“Yeah, I’ve been called wirey. 183cm, 70kg.”

Oh, tall. Explains why he has such a long reach with his bo staff. “That must quite the advantage in combat.”

“As long as I have a weapon in my hands, yes. You know I’m not a fan of hand-to-hand when it can be avoided. I’m not exactly built for a match of brute strength. How about you?”

After going through this with Lay, Kai should’ve been prepared for this tit for tat. “I don’t know. I guess I’m decently strong? I usually curl about 30 kgs,” he says tentatively, rubbing the outside of his arms self-consciously.

Tao lets out a soft whistle. “That’s impressive. I only do 20kgs. You work out regularly then?” He’s wrapped more toasters and sits by the window for Kai to give him the go ahead.

“Wait, there’s someone heading into the room below you,” Kai halts him. The red light enters the room, meanders around, maybe looking for something, before exiting. “Okay go now.” Kai’s getting anxious to finish this mission, and Tao’s going to need to make one more trip back up to undo the cable plus shut the window.

The operative is efficient, sliding down to the ground, scaling back up the wall, and unhooking the cable with ease. Tao makes a clean getaway with the goods, back to his transport.

“Okay, I’m good. I’ll talk to you next time, Compass Kai.”

He cringes. “Let it go, Tao. I asked  _ once _ .”

“I know and I’ll never let you forget. You’re keeping the nickname, like it or not. Oh - one last thing: I didn’t notice your name on the nav list for something later this month.”

“Mmm, I know there’s something happening because some of the other navs have mentioned it, but I don’t think I’m involved. Why do you mention it though?” Kai’s confused why there’s even discussion on an operation weeks in advance; normally everything is on a day to day basis.

“I just thought you’d be on there. There’s… more extensive travel involved. Nav team I heard is travelling, too. Anyway, I probably shouldn’t say more than that.”

“Oh of course.”

“K, signing off.”

As Kai finishes the successful mission protocol and sends the materials to the incinerator, he can’t help wondering why he’s not looped into this bigger operation. Originally, he’d blown it off as just some side project and figured Chen was tapped for it since his regular agents were involved. (And it’s no mystery why he’d want to ‘tap’ Wendy as a partner once they needed more navigators.) But now… knowing Tao is going to be a part of the team, too, and hearing his operative’s surprise that he’s not invited… Is he being kept out of it for a reason? Because he’s taking too long on his missions lately, lingering on the phone line with a certain someone?

No, surely not. They’ve still all been successful missions. Maybe he’s overthinking this. But it adds to the pile of worries weighing him down.

After a quick stop at the break room to fix up his iced coffee, Kai heads back and plops into his awful desk chair. He accepts the next mission waiting for him on his dashboard, and lets the envelope clang the bottom of the tray, staring at it while sipping his drink. He shivers as the cold liquid slides down his throat.

Nervously, he picks up the mission envelope and peeks inside.

Dyo.

Ok, don’t panic. Just… just focus on the pregaming. He slides the USB out of the folder and plugs it into his computer to pull up the blueprints. He’ll get everything in order and overplan before turning on the headset, it’ll be fine.

There’s nothing but an overhead map of an open field and the backside of one building approximately a mile away. What. the. fuck. He scans through the briefing sheet, finding basically no useful information.

Jongin leans back in his chair and stares upward. Someone up there is testing him tonight. Really, how is he supposed to take a step back, stay focused on being professional, when there’s no substantive work to concentrate on? He’s going to be defenseless against that heavenly voice and Dyo’s every charming word.

A deep sigh and then there’s no point in postponing. He’ll just do his best. He affixes his headset and goes live in his best controlled voice.

“Good evening, Kai here. Let me know when we’re a go.”

“Uh oh. What’s wrong, sugar?” There a tinge of genuine concern in Dyo’s silky voice, and Kai already feels himself melting from it. Damn it.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Jongin replies, aiming for business-polite. “Just getting us started.”

“You haven’t given me a standard greeting like that since our first time together.”  _ First time together _ , too fucking suggestive. Kai bites his lips and rubs his temples. “Something happen, darling?”

“No,” he lies.

“You seem… stiff. And not in the sexy way.” Dyo’s joking tone is clearly angling for a laugh, which bubbles up against Kai’s will. “Ah, there’s that beautiful sound,” Dyo coos, and Jongin suddenly feels like Mimi, enjoying the praise a little too much and wanting to lean further into the warm caresses Dyo offers with that velvety voice.

No. Work. Stick to  _ work. _

“I am a little confused about our mission tonight,” Kai admits. “I’ve got very few details on our location. With not much in the way of directives, either. Just ‘keep an eye out?’” Seriously, who wrote this briefing sheet, because it sucks.

“Ah, yes. You’re my virtual bodyguard tonight, sweetheart.”

Fuck, this is not Jongin’s strongest suit. He likes having a destination to lead his operative to. He likes buildings with their straight lines, clear boundaries, and measurable pathways, not open spaces where threats can appear from 360 degrees with no obstacles between them and his man. And he’s especially stressed about providing security surveillance over Dyo given how shit he was at it last night. He chugs his iced coffee, praying the caffeine will imbue him with 250mL of pure Vigilance.

Oh shit, he drank too fast. Brain freeze, brain freeze. He groans in pain, heels of his hands pressing into his forehead.

“Well, don’t be  _ too  _ excited about it,” Dyo says sarcastically. “You’re breaking my heart here, babe.” The joking tone doesn’t quite carry all the way through the last comment, a soft flash of vulnerability barely detectable, and suddenly, Jongin feels like a total asshole.

“No, it’s not the assignment. It was-- it’s cold and-- brain freeze. You know I love working with you,” he rushes to explain. Whelp, there goes playing it cool. He covers his mouth to hold back any more honesty from escaping.

Dyo brightens right away. “Okay, okay,” comes the fond chuckle over the line. “Go easy on your drink there. Let me brief  _ you _ for once, tiger.” The agent explains there are a series of fiber networks that all meet at a major junction buried under the ground in this particular field. His objective requires that he make some  _ alterations _ to the system. “There shouldn’t be anyone out here in the dead of night. It’s been totally quiet since I got here. But I will be kind of conspicuous while I’m working, since I’ll need to turn on a lamplight to see what I’m doing. So you’re just watching for signs of life and relaying it to me if you see any. I’ll kill the light and move out of their range with you directing me if it comes to that.”

Kai absorbs the information carefully. “How dark is it really?”

“Pretty pitch black right now. No artificial lighting, streets are too far away.” 

He can’t help but perk up with curiosity. “Can you see Orion’s belt?”

“What? The constellation?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know, darling - I’m not familiar with stars and stuff.”

“Me neither, but it’s supposed to be one of the easiest to spot?” Before he knows it, he’s digging his library book out of his bag and flipping to his carefully bookmarked page.

It takes them a minute of back and forth, giggling as they try to orient Dyo’s positioning and Kai’s star map so he can better communicate where to look, but they figure it out. Kai’s eyes flicker back to his navigation screen to make sure there’s still nothing but the reassuring green blinking light in the middle of nowhere; all is well. He hears the rustling of tall grass as Dyo lays down on the ground to keep himself in the proper orientation.

“Okay, so it’s supposed to be toward the SSE,” he guides. “Like if the sky is a watch face, check five o’clock. Three stars in a row, fairly compact?”

“I see a  _ really _ bright one over there?” Dyo says hesitantly.

“Oh that might be Orion’s shoulder - try lower,” Kai suggests.

“Lower… yep! I see it.” The grin is evident in the agent’s voice.

Kai lets out a quiet, celebratory “woooooo” at his desk. He smiles at his star map and imagines Dyo smiling at the real thing in the sky. Somehow... this is satisfying. Stargazing together, however many miles apart.

“It’s pretty. You should come out here and see it yourself sometime, beautiful.”

Kai blushes at what feels like an invitation before clearing his throat and snapping back to reality. “Uh, we really should get started. I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You were thinking you were excited about something and wanted to share it. Nothing wrong with that, sweetheart.” Dyo’s voice is all warm and reassuring, and Jongin wishes he could just soak in it the rest of the night. But they’ve got work to do.

“Okay, I’m turning on my lamplight now,” Dyo warns. “I’ll try to get this done quickly just in case someone gets nosy nearby.”

“Got it.” Kai is on high alert now, staring carefully at the screen and panning around a little. He tries to see what kind of building is off to the side, judging it to be a fairly large size, but there’s no useful data other than the outside dimensions. No floor plans whatsoever to peruse and determine its use.

There are some sounds of tools clanking together as Dyo presumably sets up. “So, how was your day, sugar?” This conversational question is followed by the sound of a shovel striking dirt and an unmistakable grunt of effort.

Oh hell no. “Are you… digging?”

Another deep grunt. “Yeah, just a little, there’s--” his breath is held then rasped out as he exerts pressure against what’s presumably a tough patch of earth “--an electrical box here but it hasn’t been opened in a while.” He stops a moment, panting directly into the mic and wreaking havoc on Kai’s libido with every rough exhale. “There are some overgrown plants, just digging them up. Almost done.”

Kai suppresses a whimper and tries to focus on the most mundane, unarousing thoughts he can muster: thermostats, aardvarks, sporks.

Mercifully, Dyo is done a moment later. “You didn’t tell me about your day, darling.”

“It was just okay. More of the usual,” he says evasively. “I’m still seeing a whole lot of nothing out there, by the way,” he reports, continuing to stare at the comforting green dot blinking alone in the middle of his screen.

“Can you see the building off in the distance, babe?” Soft electronic beeps drift over the line as Dyo starts up some device.

“Yeah, but no clue what’s inside. No blueprints in the system for this.”

“Right. Well, keep watching, beautiful.” There’s a hint of mischief in the operative’s voice.

A few seconds later, walls begin materializing on the inside of the building on his screen, slowing mapping out rooms along the exterior building wall on the first floor.

“Holy shit, how’d you do that??” In amazement, Kai clicks to check the second, third, and fourth floor blueprints, all previously empty, and sees the outer rooms facing the field all show up as well.

“I’m magical, baby,” Dyo taunts. “It’s a new tool I’ve got, kind of a cross between metal detection and x-ray vision, basically. So long as it can communicate with a nearby fiber network, it can detect building layouts via their steel beams and send info back in near real-time to headquarters. The program is coded to populate it almost instantly for navigators and save the info to the database.”

He’s never seen or heard of anything like it. Kai is in awe. “ _ You _ made this?”

“No, the real geniuses are in R&D they created the device that does the detection. I just helped them with the real-time relay part.”

“You’re being humble. That’s a really fucking big part of what makes this so incredible.”

“Such a filthy mouth tonight. My shy Kai is swearing like a sailor.” Dyo’s voice has turned dangerously dark, and Kai feels himself blushing. He decides to redirect.

“I can only see the outer room, though. Is that a glitch or…”

“Naw, that’s to be expected. It’s got great range in terms of distance, but once it’s passing through solid materials like brick and hitting metal and stuff, the signal’s going to get disturbed. Someone still needs to be  _ in _ the building with the device to help map it out completely.” Dyo’s still fiddling with his miracle receiver on the fiber network, so Kai just continues monitoring his screen and letting his eyes roam over the new blueprints. 

As the shock wears off, he feels himself getting whiny. “Damn, you guys get all the cool new toys to play with. We here at the office always get the shaft.”

“Someone sounds jealous.”

“Did I tell you about the coffee machine that barely brews four cups and was probably partying before it was 1999?”

“I’ll tell you what – I’ll buy you some shiny new toys, tiger.”

Kai flips his mic up with one hand and covers his mouth with the other, just in time to muffle a scream. The idea of Dyo, doting on him, actually offering to spoil him with nice things, like a-- Kai’s going to lose his mind and never find it again if this train of thought keeps up. 

“You shouldn’t flirt like that,” he chastises after taking a few breaths and readjusting his mic.

“And why not?” comes the challenge in return.

“Because… because we’re not allowed to see each other outside of work.”

“So… my flirting makes you want to see me outside of work?” Dyo summarizes with a teasing lilt.

“It makes me--”  _ want to get on my knees.  _ “I mean, isn’t that the point of flirting, like for it to lead--”  _ somewhere, like a relationship. Or at least a bedroom. _ “Look,  _ you’re _ the one that’s--,” Kai fumbles over his words time and again, feeling himself get increasingly red. With a groan, he gives up. “You’re doing this on purpose.”

“Doing what, tiger?”

“Making me overexplain stuff.”

“Now why would I do a thing like that?”

“I don’t know, because you’re evil and enjoy torturing me?”

“Maybe I just think you sound especially cute when you’re trying to pretend like you don’t want to flirt. Yet you’ve never once sounded like you actually want me to quit.”

“Stop…” Kai whispers unconvincingly. “We might get in trouble.”

“For what, for talking? Hold on.” There’s a break in the conversation while Dyo grunts through what must be him trying to connect the cables that were deeper underground to the receiver for his fancy new contraption. Kai tries not to acknowledge his awakening dick or think impure thoughts. (But he’s exhausted his willpower earlier this evening and fails.)

“Okay, shy Kai. Here’s what I understand. Operatives and navigators can’t ever meet in person, right?”

“Right,” he affirms, sitting up straighter and focusing on The Rules.

“And we both know this.”

“Sure.”

“So, if there’s a mutual understanding that this doesn’t go anywhere but here, I don’t see what’s wrong with having a little fun while we’re working.”

Kai ponders this.

“But I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. If you don’t like it or I’m pushing too far, I can stop and we can only talk about mission-pertinent stuff. Whatever you want, tig—Kai.”

He should’ve known he could count on Dyo to revert to pure professionalism if he really asked for it. The guy is obviously incredibly competent and a huge asset for Prudence, Inc. But the prospect of them sticking to only cold, co-worker talk has him immediately distressed, even if it’s probably what’s best for them in the long run. 

“No, I… Ilikebeingtiger,” he blurts out as fast as possible.

“Oh? What’s that, sugar?”

“You heard me.” Kai covers his face with his hands and bangs his forehead against his desk a few times.

“Tell me again. Maybe I liked hearing it.” That fucking smirk is evident in his voice again.

“Maybe I have limits on how much I wanna be teased,” he replies haughtily, steering the conversation into another direction. “Are there any remaining objectives for this mission, since you’re the only one with a legitimate briefing sheet?”

Kai hears him shutting the electrical panel and dusting off his hands. “Yeah, how about you and I take a walk, honey, and we’ll see if we can get the perimeter of this building mapped out before I leave.”

The green light on his screen starts trekking toward the building. This is going to take awhile.

“Okay, Twenty Questions, but this time  _ I’m _ asking the questions,” Dyo proposes.

Kai smiles, pleased the operative wants to learn more about him. “Okay, you’re on.” 

For the next ten minutes, they play a few rounds, with Dyo winning each and every one of them.

“Oh come on, the Black Butler movie was totally overrated this year,” he complains, regarding Kai’s favorite anime.

“Excuse you, it was  _ not. _ ” The bicker about the merits of the TV show versus the film as Dyo circles the abandoned building. The blueprints on Kai’s screen fill in nicely all around the edges of the building.

Mission is technically complete, but Dyo has to retrieve the tools back in the field, and Kai wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t stay with him until he was officially off-location, right? So they stay connected on the long walk back, chatting more freely about animes from years past.

“Oh, I did have one question for you,” Kai remembers.

“What’s that, baby?”

“What are your physical stats? Like, height, weight, frame: just in case it’s mission-relevant at some point. I’ve started making notes on these for all my operatives,” he says truthfully.

“Ah, really?”

There’s hesitancy. This may be the first time Kai’s heard Dyo hesitate for anything. “Something wrong?”

“No, nothing wrong. I’m one seventy… three cm, 66kg.”

A-ha. Jongin smirks. He actually loves the idea of Dyo being perfectly sized to comfortably throw his arm over his shoulders, but the tiny trace of weakness there is too delicious to not exploit, especially after all the teasing he’s suffered tonight. “That’s cute. I don’t see why you’re reluctant to share: you know what they say. Good things come in small packages.”

“I assure you, sweetheart,” Dyo says in a dangerous tone, “that there’s nothing small about my package.”

Jongin’s face burns bright red. Are they really talking about dicks right now? Dyo’s dick? It’s official: his sanity has left the building. And to think, he booked his own ticket into Crazytown by choosing to start this conversation.

“You did catch my weight, right? I may be shorter but I’m dense in muscle distribution, darling. So don’t misimagine me as a thin wisp of a flower boy or anything. I’ve choked guys out with my thighs before.”

Great, that’s an image Jongin will never get out of his head. Might as well chisel it on his bedroom ceiling - it’s all he’s going to see when he tries to sleep tonight, he just knows it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, it's been a full month, longer than I would've liked. Sorry, I was busy finishing my Kaisoommer fic. (They'll start posting here on ao3 in just 2 days! Be sure to check them out.)
> 
> A long chapter for you, not my favorite one, but hopefully it still made you smile/laugh in places OTL Huge thanks to indigomini as always for beta'ing and laughing at my dumb jokes. I love my wife ♡
> 
> Things are about to pick up speed in this story... but I'm honestly not sure if people will still want me to update while KSMR and THE EXO REPACKAGE /wheezes/ are happening. Comment if you want another ch update within 2 weeks? Otherwise I'll assume we'll all be busy dying over POWER, aaaahhh! <3 you guys XD
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com)
> 
> PS: Indigomini and I started a collab fic: [I'm Into You](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11953017)


	7. Chapter 7

Jongin’s walk to the cat cafe is slow and measured. All along the way, he kicks a glittery pebble from the subway exit, carefully keeping it from rolling off the sidewalk into the street. It’s still quiet at this hour, just the sounds of his dress shoes hitting pavement and the little rock bouncing along to keep him company. When he reaches Chateau des Chats, he picks up the pebble, inspecting it for a moment, and pockets it.

“Good morning, Luhan,” he calls to his friend. Who is oddly missing from his usual perch behind the coffee counter.

"Hey, Jongin," comes a muffled reply from the back hallway. The owner is leaning all the way inside a closet, trying to fish something out. Only Luhan’s legs are visible, one up in the air as he struggles.

After setting down his bag at his usual table at the front, Jongin traverses the cafe to the far back end where the storage closet is. He bows slightly to greet the other regular patrons as he passes by, coming to a stop and leaning against the doorframe as he pokes Luhan in the ribs. "Need some help?"

The owner straightens up and blows his bangs up off his forehead. "Yeah, actually. New shipments came in, and they're blocking all of the beans I need to get to." Luhan starts handing him nondescript cardboard boxes, one right after another. Jongin isn't sure what to do with them, so he starts a pile to his right, stacking three high before creating a new column.

"These are kinda heavy. It's all coffee?"

"Mostly," Luhan says dismissively. He shuffles several bags of coffee to the side and then motions for Jongin to start reloading the closet box by box, shoving them each onto shelves that go surprisingly deep into the wall. When he's got them all situated back on the shelves, Luhan moves the bags of coffee beans in front, setting them back in neat little rows. It's almost impossible to see the boxes once he's finished.

Jongin raises a questioning eyebrow at his friend. Luhan ignores it.

"So I took the liberty of putting a splash of raspberry in your latte this morning. Hope it might sweeten your day," he says with a distractingly cheery smile, bouncing back behind the bar. "And it's on the house. Fair trade for the hard labor you just provided."

He's not sure exactly _what_ labor he just provided. "No, it's fine. And let me get a pastry today, too," Jongin requests, pointing at the food display. While Luhan’s back is turned to get his egg tart onto a plate, Jongin pulls out cash and quickly stuffs it into the cash register so the owner won’t get a chance to object. "Thanks, Lu." He grabs his food and heads to his seat.

Mimi is sitting atop the table already, staring at him with a somewhat impatient swish of her tail. She mews at his approach, as if to say, "what took you so long."

"Hello my pretty kitty," he coos while setting his plate and mug down. Jongin pets the soft fur between her ears and boops noses with her. She purrs loudly, stepping into his lap the moment he bends into his chair.

"How was your morning, princess?" he asks as she winds back and forth on his thighs. He eats his egg tart with one hand while giving her scratches under the thin pink collar around her neck. In lieu of answering him, Mimi grooms his bare forearms with occasional licks.

"I brought you something today, girl." He lifts the cat off his lap and places her on the ground. Mimi voices her displeasure at losing her cat bed, whining a long, somber meow. Jongin reaches into his pocket and pulls out the pebble. He waves it in front of her face, letting the sunlight pouring through the window glint off the silvery flecks in the stone. Mimi's pupils dilate until her green irises all but disappear. Jongin tosses the pebble onto the floor and watches as she darts after it, batting it about the smooth linoleum. He kicks it away with the toe of his dress shoe when she flings it his direction, and chuckles as he watches her give chase.

"You know, I have about three dozen cat toys in here. You don't need to bring detritus off the streets," Luhan mock complains, inviting himself to sit down at Jongin's table.

"Yes, but your toys are too familiar." He waves a hand in the general direction of some wind-up toys and rubber bouncy balls that have been staples in the cafe since he started coming. "She's needs a little variety now and then. She deserves some sparkle in her life, no?" Amused, he watches her scoop the pebble up in a paw and nip at it a few times before it slips out of her grasp, sliding across the floor until it reaches him. He covers the stone with his foot and laughs as she tries to swat it out from several different angles. Once she’s whining in frustration, he lifts his foot to reveal the pebble and nudges it across the floor again.

"Things went better with the crush, huh?" Luhan smirks at him and steals the last of his egg tart. "You were a little distant yesterday."

"It's... been up and down. But mostly up." Like his boners.

"Good, that's good to hear. Does he know? That you're interested?"

Interested, what does that even mean in their situation. "Uh, yeah, I guess. We have a rapport."

Luhan makes a spitting noise. "A rapport. Are you trying to sign business deals or get laid, my friend? I swear, only you would describe trying to get into someone's pants as 'building rapport.'"

Jongin could argue but he doesn't see the point: he can't explain the details of why he'll never get in Dyo's pants to Luhan. He gives a self-deprecating shrug and continues to amuse himself and his cat.

“Okay, okay. I’ll leave you alone after one more question.” Luhan leans across the table with a mischievous smile. “Favorite thing about this guy?”

Jongin purses his lips and blushes, averting his eyes. He’s about to say Dyo’s voice, but when he opens his mouth to speak, it comes out as-

“Everything.”

“Oh, you’ve got it bad.” Lu beams at him and pinches Jongin’s cheek as he rises from the table, leaving him to tumble his thoughts and his pebble with Mimi.

\---

Days off of work are always confusing for his body. Jongin keeps his schedule of waking at the usual time, working out, running errands, all like clockwork. It’s too difficult to flip back to a daytime schedule for just one day, but maintaining a complete nocturnal pattern when he doesn’t have the distraction of work is challenging, too. Nothing tends to be open in the middle of the night except clubs, bars, and noreabang, all of which are decidedly not his scene.

At least he has some work from his side hustle to distract him in the early evening. He dresses in his usual white button-down and black slacks, looking every bit the part of a respectable architect. He has that appointment with his mother’s knitting circle friend to go over the renovation he’s going to draft for her condo. Naturally, the meeting is scheduled in said condo.

Unnaturally, there’s a knitting circle meet-up at the same time.

He gives his mother a dead-eyed _how could you do this to me_ stare as he endures the not-so-subtle inquiries into his personal life from the room full of nosy ahjummas.

“You’re so handsome, Jongin-ah. I bet you have many girls chasing after you at work.”

“Ah, thank you. But no, there’s nothing like that happening at my workplace. My colleagues are very professional,” he lies through his teeth, pretending as though Baekhyun doesn’t exist.

“Jongin-ah, your mother says you’ve been extra busy with work lately. Are you coming up for a promotion?”

“No, but I’m doing well. My boss has been pleased with my performance.”

“Tsk, then he shouldn’t be keeping you in the office past dinner time.” Damn, his mom shares more about his life with these women than he does with Lu. “You shouldn’t skip meals, dear. You’re still a growing boy.”

“I’m 25,” he reminds them, perplexed.

“Yet you grow broader each time I see you!” One lady handing him a teacup and saucer takes the liberty of stroking his deltoids. It’s one of those weirdly invasive things that menopausal women do and polite society has come to accept for reasons beyond Jongin’s comprehension. “Ooo, so strong. Halfway to 50? You should be thinking about marriage then, Jongin-ah.”

This sparks a chorus of simultaneous chattering around the room. “Mom, can I speak to you in the kitchen for a moment?” he implores. Luckily, she’s quick to play rescuer and takes his arm, allowing him to escort her out of the room and away from the women excitedly discussing potential matches for him.

“My price for this remodel just doubled,” he deadpans, sulking against the kitchen countertops.

“Good! I told you that you should give them a fair price for your quality work, rather than discounting it so much.” She pats his cheek approvingly.

“You led me into the lion’s den without even a fair warning,” he pouts with a nod in the direction of the living room.

“That wasn’t my idea, actually. You can blame Miryo for deciding to schedule your appointment to overlap with the end of our weekly circle meeting.”

“This is Mrs. Cho’s fault?!” Jongin feels betrayed. He’s always favored her over his mom’s other friends.

His mom pulls him into a tight hug. Her head barely reaches his lower rib cage, so he has to bend down to properly hug her back, but the warmth and strength of her love makes him feel small and cared for. “I’ll get rid of the others so you can discuss the renovation in peace. Set up in here,” she gestures to the long kitchen table, “and I’ll tell everyone you need quiet to concentrate and work your magic.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“You’re welcome. And it was good to see you, son.”

“You, too, mom.”

With a peck on the cheek, she turns to go round up the other women and shoo them away.

When he finishes discusses Mrs. Cho’s wish list and budget, it’s 10pm. Late for most people, but early for him. He stops by his apartment to drop off his bag filled with drafting materials. No sense in lugging around rulers and rolls of plotter paper. With a lightened load, Jongin heads for the subway station. From his neighborhood in Insadong, it takes him about an hour and a half to go all the way to Soyosan, the end of the line. He walks a few blocks until civilization thins out and it’s mostly grassy space. At the northern outskirts of Seoul, it really is quieter, darker.

The stars look alive out here.

Using his phone’s flash for light, he pulls his astronomy book from his bag and orients himself with the star map. He sits on the manicured grass, running his fingers over the short blades, before deciding to lay back. Face turned up to the heavens, Jongin smiles at the memory from last night. He quickly finds Orion’s Belt, down towards the SSE. Dyo’s right: it’s pretty.

His fingers comb through the grass beside him, like they’re searching for others to intertwine with. Jongin wonders, if it were possible, if he’d have the courage to really lay beside Dyo in a place like this and discuss stars.

Who’s he kidding. Odds are, he’d be a totally awkward turtle and sneeze into his hand just before they touched. And it’s pointless to wonder, when it’s not possible anyway.

His heart still quickens from dreams unspoken.

\---

He finishes off his day as usual, back at the cat cafe and ready to diligently work on the blueprints for Mrs. Cho. But Luhan is obnoxiously attentive today.

“You came from the other direction.”

“Huh?”

“You always walk up from the south side. I watch you through the window.”

“How delightfully creepy of you,” Jongin grabs his coffee and heads back to his table to draw new plumbing plans. Luhan is hot on his heels.

“No really, why’d you come from the north today? You’re a creature of habit. You don’t walk the same way here everyday for more than a year and then suddenly change routes without a reason.”

“It’s true. You _do_ always come from the other way,” the old woman on the couch muses over the top of her newspaper. The high schoolers ignore their conversation, too engrossed with math and sleep, as usual.

Jongin ignores the comments in hopes they’ll go away, focusing instead on clipping his blueprints onto the table. He’d had to go back to his apartment to get his drafting materials. Never in a million years did he think Lu would pick up on him coming from a different direction, from home, rather than the subway station.

“Oh my God,” Luhan snaps his fingers. “You got laid last night. I’m witnessing your walk of shame, aren’t I?”

Jongin snorts derisively as he gets Mimi settled into his lap. “Really? This,” he gestures to his professional attire, “looks like a walk of shame? I’m offended.” Using a ruler, he redraws the walls of a kitchen and plans to tune Luhan out.

“Care to explain these, Mr. _Always-impeccably-dressed_?” Luhan grabs his wrist and points out… a grass stain. Whoops.

“Guess I accidentally grabbed a dirty one,” Jongin tries to fib, feeling the red flush his face.

“Uh huh, suuuure. Hope you had a nice outdoor romp, Romeo.”

He smacks Luhan across the forearm with his metal ruler, successfully getting him to stand and leave him alone, though the owner does cackle in his direction every once in awhile. He ignores him and simply focuses on his work, explaining his reconfiguration of the living room to Mimi as she purrs in his lap.

When Jongin gets home and sheds his clothes into the hamper, he notices the grass stains weren’t limited to the sleeve cuff: The entire back of his shirt was pigmented green. He curls up in bed, throws a pillow over his face, and desperately tries not to dream about Dyo pinning him down in the field under the stars.

\---

Chen’s waiting for him in the break room when he arrives at Prudence that evening.

“I’m cashing in that massage you owe me,” he says with an eyebrow waggle.

Kai grimaces and nods curtly once. “Okay but let me start the… coffee…” He trails off because on the counter, in place of the junky plastic pot he’s had to struggle with daily, is a fancy, full-featured espresso machine. In a glossy chrome color.

“Yes, please. None of us have any idea how to work this. We were uncaffeinated last night without you,” Chen explains.

“Why does that not surprise me,” Kai murmurs while marveling at the beautiful piece of machinery in front of him. He runs a delicate finger along the milk steamer and checks the built-in bean grinder to see if they even attempted to fill it. It’s empty. “Where did this come from? Is it a bonus from Kris?”

“Ah, the great mystery. It was delivered to the building with an attached card for The Prudence Navigation Team. Where did Baek put it?” Chen digs around in the kitchenette drawers and pulls out a plain black card with silver writing on it.

_To the navigators: Thanks for your hard work. Enjoy your shiny new toy._

No. Fucking. Way.

There’s no signature. There doesn’t need to be, Kai knows exactly where this came from and his heart is about to beat out of his chest because of it.

“I feel like Kris is more direct than this, would’ve made a point to hand carry it in himself or something,” Chen muses aloud while pulling out a bag of coffee beans and dropping it into Kai’s hands. “What do you think?”

Kai swallows thickly and busies himself with the task of pouring beans into the machine. “Maybe every department got one,” he supplies weakly, heart racing. This move… actually buying something he knew Kai wanted... it positively screams boyfriend at him.

“Ah, that’d make sense. It is addressed to all of us, so maybe it’s like an overdue upgrade that they’re doing on all the floors.”

Right. To the team. To the navigators. Kai pours water into the machine and tries not to pout. It’s silly but… he wonders if Dyo’s fondness extends to everyone here.

Baekhyun and Wendy arrive as Kai is readying the coffee into different mugs for each of them. After a quick round of greetings, Chen removes his jacket and settles into a chair, throwing Kai a quick conspiratorial look.

Kai wanders over and starts massaging the back of Chen’s neck. Wendy is putting her food away while Baekhyun casually leans against the side of the fridge and holds the freezer door shut with a sneaky hand along the top.

“Wait, I don’t want my shirt to wrinkle,” Chen says, a little louder than necessary. Kai rolls his eyes and removes his hands off Chen’s shoulders so he can shrug out of his dress shirt. Wendy wanders over.

“Oh, getting your free massage from Kai today?” she asks, even though the answer is obvious.

“Yeah, I’ve felt a little tight lately,” Chen says nonchalantly in his one-size-too-small undershirt. He crosses his arms in front, fists tucked under his biceps to make them look bigger. Kai suppresses a snort and uses as much pressure as he can in his massage just to watch Chen struggle not to wince while keeping up the tough guy front.

“I guess it’ll be my turn to pay up soon,” Wendy replies with a sweet smile. She drums her fingernails on the table, letting the pretty pink nails clack lightly. Kai feels Chen take a deep breath and hold it, fully entranced. “I’m gonna get to work.” She leaves but spares a second glance back at Chen before disappearing around the hall.

The freezer door opens and shuts swiftly behind them. “Thanks for the coffee, man,” Baekhyun says, tossing a thumbs up at Kai as he struts out of the break room.

As soon as they’re alone, Kai stops working on the knot between Chen’s shoulder blades. “I gotta say, I’m impressed you didn’t drool right in front of her.”

“Yah, where are you going?”

“Come on, the massages from Baek and I are all clearly a ruse. I’m surprised you haven’t asked for the one you really want yet.”

“It’s slyer this way, saving the best for last, and I’ve been slowly working my magic on her in the meantime. But that’s beside the point: You still owe me one, asshole. Xiumin and I defeated all of you fair and square last training. Face it: we’re the best team.”

“Whatever. If I’d had--” Kai stops himself. He was about to taunt that he could’ve won with his new favorite regular, but that’s out of line and dismissing of Tao, a good agent. Plus, it would broadcast his attachment to the guy with the killer voice and even sexier overall demeanor.

Unfortunately, it seems he’s already said too much.

Chen gives up trying to coax him back for a massage. He rises from his chair and re-buttons his dress shirt while stalking over to lean against the counter. “You know, I finally had a mission with the elusive Agent Dyo yesterday.” He grins at Kai, taking a drawn out sip of his coffee, enjoying watching him squirm for more information.

“Okay,” he says, feigning indifference. He refuses to look at Chen, scanning through the fridge for his missing leftovers. Baek probably ate them yesterday. (Damn vulture.)

“I’m straight, but I see the…” Chen smacks his lips thoughtfully, “the allure of the guy. He’s quite suave, huh? Wish I had that voice. I bet he’s drowning in pussy. Or dick. Maybe both.” He’s needling Kai on purpose. The kittenish smirk on his face makes it more apparent than his constant attempts to get Wendy’s attention.

Kai huffs. “I wouldn’t know. Just work with the guy. We have boundaries, you know.” He ignores the polished coffee machine in the background, twinkling in the light.

Chen nods. “But if you didn’t…?” he raises an eyebrow at him. “Hell, even I’m curious after one night with him. What’s he like in person, what kind of mouth goes with that voice?”

Kai rattles the fridge door shut and straightens up. “I follow protocol, so I don’t think about that,” he lies. He’s not sure why this conversation is getting to him so badly, but it definitely is. Maybe because of the insinuation that his attraction is purely sexual, when deep down, Kai fears it’s way beyond that now. And these boundaries and protocols hem him in, suffocate him. The _if onlys_ have started plaguing him: if only they’d met some other way, if only the rules weren’t so clear, if only Dyo wasn’t so damn tempting, if only… “Why don’t you save your breath for kissing Wendy’s ass,” he jabs back.

“I wish,” Chen admits under his breath. “But you act like I’m the only one around here who’s obvious. Don’t kid yourself.” After a friendly pat on the shoulder that Kai shrugs out of, Chen scampers off to his desk with a snicker and a wave. “Say hi to Dyo for me!”

Irritated, Kai heads to his workstation. He shouldn’t be so sensitive; Chen is just being playful and doesn’t mean any harm.

He accepts the mission on his dashboard and snatches the envelope that floats down the chute.

Dyo. Of course. Of course, he’s going to start the evening with him, while he’s completely on edge and filled with a hundred conflicting emotions hurtling around inside him.

A quick glance through the mission briefing is all he really needs. It’s akin to the last mission they had together. Lots of open space, buildings off in the distance, vigilantly watch for threats. The overall instructions are the same, but the wording is significantly more professional. Good, hopefully whichever clown wrote that last one got an earful and has stepped up their game.

Map pulled up, headset on. Kai notices several estimated stoppage points in the open space. Dyo must be installing more than one receiver out here tonight. He waggles his cursor around on the screen, wasting time while he tries to sort through his anxieties and the light ache in his chest. There’s no way he’s going to solve his problem before he needs to start this mission; he balls up all the complicated feelings and suppresses them deep inside. Just… just talk to him like usual. A long exhale, and then he clicks to connect.

“Hi,” he greets softly.

“Hey, sweetheart. I missed you yesterday.” It comes out warm, so damn warm. Kai positively melts in his chair.

“Did you?” He sounds so meek but can’t help it.

“Of course. Why didn’t you tell me it was your day off, honey?”

“I forgot.” _I forget a lot of things when I’m with you. Like how I’m not supposed to like you this much._ “You didn’t get one off, though?”

“No, lots to do right now. Receivers to install, buildings to creep on. The system’s still in beta testing, basically, and I’m the only qualified professional we’ve got for installs.”

Kai frowns. “I’m sorry. You need to rest, too.”

A smirk permeates Dyo’s deep tone. “So concerned. You wanna take care of me, baby?”

Kai covers his mouth to prevent a needy _yes, God yes_ from slipping out. They’re on the clock. There’s a mission waiting. “I’ll watch over you well tonight,” he deflects. “Are you already in position?” There’s no green light yet on his screen.

“Yeah, I’m here. Was just watching the sky waiting for you.” Dyo turns his locator on so it appears on Kai’s map. The field is flanked by two long rows of buildings. Must be two main roads that run parallel to each other, separated by this large open space. Perfect location for communication cables to join up. Now that Dyo’s position is lit up, though, he notices the scale for this map: it’s 15 kilometers long.

“Are we responsible for surveilling the _whole_ length of this map?” he asks incredulously, scrolling it from side to side.

“Yep. It’s gonna be you and me, babe. All night.”

Oh lord, send help. ~~Sex~~ six hours with Dyo. Kai swallows thickly and gnaws on his thumb.

“I know I’m near the first junction, but I’ve kept my headlamp off, waiting til your protective eyes could look out for me. Am I all clear to light up, sugar?”

No red dots in sight. “Yes, you’re clear.”

A heavy metal lid creaks open in the background, and familiar electronic sounds filter through Kai’s earpiece.

“So… what’s new, darling?”

New. Shiny and new. “I saw the gift. To all the navs,” he blurts out. Wait, maybe Kai jumped to the wrong conclusion here. Maybe it wasn’t Dyo, maybe it was--

“Do you like it, tiger?”

Kai feels his ears burn, flushed from the doting question. “You really shouldn’t have done that. We should’ve all pitched in together for a new one. It looks expensive.”

“It was,” Dyo is candid.

“What, are you independently wealthy or something?”

Dyo sniggers. “No. No, I just wanted to do something nice.”

Something nice. For everyone, Kai reminds himself. It’s a gift to everyone. “Well, the whole team would send their regards if they knew.” His next words come out clipped, curter than intended. “You’ve met them all now. Had a good time with Chen yesterday, I hear.”

“Someone sounds jealous.”

Kai crosses his arms. He’s not. He’s _not._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really intended to see this whole scene through with the mission, but I'm exhausted and it's gonna take at least another 1.5k which I don't have time for this week. (My fic for mythology fest due in <7 days.) Thanks to indigomini for beta'ing and helping me with my decision here. I thought about cutting it with Nini dreaming of getting pinned down in the field, but I really wanted you to at least see Dyo (hey boi) and know he BOUGHT A F*CKIN ESPRESSO MACHINE for Kai ^_^ next ch will pick from right here in this mission. 
> 
> Talk with me in the comments - it keeps my energy up! See you in another 2ish weeks.
> 
> PS [Kaisoommer](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/ksmr_17) is now posting! Can you find my fic? XD
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
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	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Ch is rated M

They’ve been working diligently across the long field, setting up receivers every kilometer or so in a staggered pattern to maximize coverage of the buildings on each of the parallel streets. Their progress is a little slow going, in large part because Kai keeps getting spooked whenever he notices a red light blink onto the screen.

“I can’t decide if you’re actually this skittish tonight, or if you just get your jollies from making me climb trees, babe,” Dyo whispers as he scales another one.

Uh oh. Caught. Even though Dyo can’t see him, Kai covers his smile with both hands. As he climbs, Dyo’s soft grunts filter through the earpiece, and lord-have-mercy, they’re gorgeous. Kai visualizes his petite agent lithely grabbing branches, forearm and thigh muscles tensing in coordination, to haul himself up and out of view from any wandering eyes that might peek out the nearby building’s windows.

“I am being appropriately cautious,” Kai defends. It’s  _ mostly  _ true. He is feeling particularly protective tonight. It’s still early enough in the evening that some overzealous workers are roaming around inside several of these buildings. “You’re very exposed out there.”

“Is that what you’re thinking about: me... exposed?” Dyo asks in a salacious tone. “Sorry to disappoint you, sugar, but I’m clad in standard-issue operative gear from head to toe.”

Kai licks his lips and chooses not to respond because thinking of Dyo in a tight black t-shirt and pants is plenty arousing as it is. He watches the red light on screen trail off, further into the heart of the building than their maps can currently reach. “Okay, the lingering workaholic is gone. You’re clear to proceed.”

There’s an adorable  _ oof _ as Dyo hops out of the tree and onto the ground. Kai provides simple directions to orient him toward the next target and gets an acknowledging, “gotcha, tiger.”

Aside from the occasional flirting when Kai’s issuing warnings about potential onlookers, the atmosphere between them has been a little weird tonight. After Dyo’s suggestion that he had been jealous, Kai found himself clamming up a bit because... he  _ knows  _ he is. And he has no right to feel this way. Chen’s teasing remarks in the break room stirred up a silly possessiveness that continues swirling in his chest along with all the pining and fondness for Dyo, creating a confusing storm of emotions. It prickles along his skin and manifests in excessive nail biting and tree-climbing commands. Quiet moping has been filling the spaces in between each of those activities.

Perceptive as always, Dyo has clearly caught onto this, but for once, there’s hesitancy on his end, too. After a few shy back and forths with Kai lapsing into uncertain silence, Dyo had resorted to filling the space with melodic humming instead.

Well, hell if Kai was going to interrupt such heavenly sounds. He rests his chin atop his folded arms on the desk, letting the dulcet tones wash over him while he watches the screen for threats. Each note is being softly crooned right into his ear, and it makes Kai yearn with every bone in his body. God, to actually have Dyo that close, to feel the tickle of his breath, nose pressed to his temple, while he purrs these lovely melodies...

Kai  _ wants _ . It’s overwhelming. This so unfair. Dyo’s so close and yet so far. The frustration builds and there’s nowhere to direct it. Except at the mysterious man on the other side of the line, always being so suave and flirty, making Jongin fall for him, and now buying shit for the nav team as if to show what things  _ could _ be like if only they weren’t spies. The nerve of this guy. Kai’s so screwed: there’s no protective layer left. He’s completely, utterly, head over heels--

“Tree time,” Kai jolts to life at the first sign of red on the screen. “I see someone in the building at your nine.”

There’s a pause. He hears Dyo’s work lamp click off, but the agent doesn’t move. “Pumpkin, that building is almost a kilometer away. Unless this person is half-owl, there’s no way they can see me with my light out.”

Ignoring the moniker, Kai pushes again. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you instead of leading me through this killer forearm workout? Or is this a purposeful test of my stamina, darling?” 

There he is, toeing the line again, between sincere caring and light-hearted banter. It’s simultaneously considerate and immeasurably frustrating, because it puts the ball squarely in Kai’s court to decide which way to go. He chooses avoidance. “It’s nothing.”

“Nothing,” Dyo repeats disbelievingly. “We must have different definitions of nothing. I’ll just stay right here until we get on the same page with that one, sugarplum.” The green light on Kai’s screen hasn’t made any move toward a tree. Stubborn ass. He’s serious about waiting him out.

“I’d just really feel better if you were up and out of reach.” Apparently, it’s subtext day because it’s all spilling out unbidden. Wow, thanks subconscious. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”  _ I don’t want to get hurt. _

“While I appreciate the concern, beautiful, the worst that could happen here is that we have to cut the mission short because someone gets too nosy.”

“I don’t fail missions,” Kai quickly replies on reflex. Never again, he promised himself.

“Sorry, of course you don’t, my professional perfectionist.” Dyo chuckles. “My points is, no one’s gonna snipe my ass from the window or anything.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” Kai reprimands, heart rate surging.

There’s a light sigh on the other side of the line, and then the green dot moves toward a nearby tree. “Okay, just for you, tiger,” he coos before hoisting himself into branches.

A warm blush heats Kai’s cheeks. “Thank you,” he murmurs back.

Dyo gives a fond “mmmm,” and they fall into comfortable silence again.

Kai twirls his now empty coffee cup in his hands, enjoying the residual warmth. “Do you like coffee?” he asks absentmindedly.

“Yeah, I do.”

“You have the same machine at home?”

“As the one I got you?”

Kai experiences his stomach doing series of somersaults as he flushes scarlet red. “Not me - You sent it to  _ ‘the navigation team,’ _ ” he corrects him weakly. 

Dyo lets out an amused huff. “Well, I couldn’t exactly have the card say,  _ To my shy Kai _ , now could I?”

He… hadn’t considered that. He should say something, anything, in response, but Kai is too busy screaming internally. Finally, he strings together a simple, “I guess not.”

There’s a beat of quiet before Dyo speaks up again. “Is that why you’re like this tonight? Was it too much?”

“No…”  _ It’s perfect. You’re perfect.  _ Because Kai’s choking back the words, his ‘no’ sounds unconvincing.

“I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable or… felt like some kind of pressure to give me special treatment on missions or something. That wasn’t my intention,” Dyo explains, contrite.

Oh fuck. Oh no, he’s actually made Dyo feel  _ guilty _ about buying him an expensive ass gift. “No, that’s not-- I don’t feel pressured at all.”  _ You’ve just always been special.  _ He clears his throat and focuses again. “And this isn’t  _ special _ treatment, I’m taking proper precautions for your safety,” he insists. “Are you telling me Chen didn’t look out for you appropriately last night? He was talking about how well you two got along and I wasn’t actually sure if--”

“Wait, what?” Dyo restrains a deep laugh that rumbles over the line. “Tiger, all you need to know about how well Chen I got along is that he chose Bloodivores as best anime from last year.”

“Ew,” Kai crinkles his nose.

“Precisely.” The smile is evident in his voice, and while this is reassuring, the fact Chen and Dyo were already chatting up anime preferences makes Kai wonder if they played Twenty Questions, too…

“Well, it’s good that you got to know him,” he replies a bit stiffly.

“Wait, I was joking earlier, but… you’re actually jealous, beautiful?” Dyo asks. There’s no judgment in his tone, only curiosity. 

“No.” It’s mumbled quietly enough that it’s easily interpreted as a yes.

“Babe. If anyone has a reason to feel that way, it’s me, you know,” Dyo says coyly. “I mean, you’ve got your other regulars that you talk to every night, and you’ve been with them longer. I don’t know what kind of level you’re on with them.”

Kai snorts. Like there’s anything Dyo needs to worry about. “It’s different.”

“Is it? Well, you’re the only one I call tiger. Or sugar. Or any of these pet names. And you’ve never called me anything but Dyo.” Is this guy seriously… pouting right now? That’s an odd turn of events.

A grin spreads across Kai’s face. “You want a nickname?”

“Do you like having one?” The quick reply sounds almost like a rhetorical question.

“One? You mean a dozen?” he jokes back.

“I can come up with a hundred ways to call you sweet and pretty, but you have one real nickname, tiger.”

He can’t help but turn bashful, eyes dropping to his lap as he purses his lips. “So you want one, too?”

“What do you think?” There’s a rare meekness, a soft sincerity, in this reply that turns Kai’s insides into complete goo. No way can he deny Dyo this.

“How about… Nightingale,” he says, offering the first one that comes to mind.

“Mmmm. You like my voice that much, huh?” The smirk carries over the airwaves as Dyo plays up the chocolatey color of his voice. Too damn powerful and this man  _ knows it.  _ Kai’s toes curl as he holds back a whimper with a thick swallow.

“Worker bee is gone, you can get down from the tree now,” Kai evades. 

When Dyo alights from the tree, all traces of the awkwardness from earlier in the evening are left behind as well. Dyo asks about his astronomy progress, and Kai helps him find the Big Dipper during the next break caused by a roaming red dot on screen. Rather than having him climb another tree, he has Dyo to lie still in the tall grass to avoid detection, and they search the stars together - Kai with his book and Dyo with the night sky before him. 

Before he knows it, the hours have flown by, and they’ve traversed the whole field together. As they head back to their starting point, the newly installed receivers are working perfectly, pinging back building layouts to the database. Meanwhile, Kai listens to Dyo describe the new Black Clover anime along with a detailed list of reasons he should watch it.

“I think you’d really like it, peaches.”

Kai mock gags at the petname. “Lots of food names today. Any particular reason?”

“Because I bet you’re delicious.” It’s said in such a scandalously low timbre, it makes Kai splutter and then promptly burst out laughing. “Ah, there’s that sweet sound. Been missing it,” Dyo says fondly.

“Oh my God,” he says between wheezes. “How long have you been waiting for me to ask, just so you could use that line?”

“I would wait all night for you, sweetheart.”

And with that, Kai realizes Dyo  _ has  _ been earnestly trying to cheer him up all night. It’s been more than the usual teasing, the casual flirting. He really read his mood, played along with his paranoia when it came to hiding from random office workers, gave him space to think, forced the serious talk to the clear the air, and even has him laughing at the end of the evening. Dyo really seems to… care. 

“Why are you so nice to me?” Kai wonders shyly aloud.

There’s a heavy pause. “Why shouldn’t I be? We’re partners,” comes the gentle reply. It hangs in the air a moment before Dyo continues in an overly dramatic voice. “I mean, I only put my  _ life  _ in your hands every single night, no biggie.”

It’s a playful step back into the comfort zone, back onto the safe side of the imaginary lines they’re supposed to stay in. It draws the intended snort of amusement from Kai. “Yeah, well,” he teases back, “that’s not as grand as it sounds. You trusted Chen with that last night, and I’ll be honest - I dunno how wise a move that was. Guy is spineless sometimes.”

Dyo clucks his tongue at him a few times. “Someone’s still jealous. And you don’t need to be.” He’s made it back to their starting point in the field, and Kai can hear him begin to unpack equipment as they wind down the mission. The background noise stops for a second. “You’re my favorite, you know.”

Kai sags in his chair, 100% smitten by the softly spoken confession, and silently mouths,  _ you’re mine, too.  _ Because he’s a coward. A very pouty coward at the moment, knowing this is goodbye, until tomorrow (hopefully). The best he can muster up in return is a gentle, “Good night, Nightingale.”

“Wait, before you go,” Dyo catches him. “There’s something here you might want to see. Switch to 3D.”

Brow furrowed, Kai changes his map settings as requested. His eyes fly open wide and a gasp escapes before he can catch it.

Dyo has removed his location sensor and turned it around to reveal a close-up view of puckered lips that blow a quick kiss and mumble, “G’night, tiger,” before pulling into a grin, and then everything disconnects. The whole show is only visible for one fleeting second, and it’s in colorless 3D rendering, but… oh God, it’s beautiful. Kai stares at the empty screen, trying to memorize the brief glimpse he had of plush lips, drawn into a heart-shaped smile. Barely visible was the sharp jawline framing the luscious lips and  _ oh holy shit _ was that a tiny bit of tongue poking out, bitten devilishly between Dyo’s perfect teeth?

What are words. Kai has none. He just sits frozen in his chair, mouth agape, eyes glazed over, for several minutes before he mindlessly starts gathering the mission materials for the incinerator. He returns to his desk and clicks through some maps in the database but can’t notate worth shit right now. He pathetically jots down the simplest of observations on one map, blinks, and it’s already 6am. Okay, time to go.

One foot in front of the other, he manages to follow the same path he always does, winding up in front of the cat café without any true recollection of the subway ride. He pulls out the drafts of Mrs. Choi’s condo, but he can’t focus on his drawings either. Mimi mews at him, displeased with how much shifting he’s doing, disturbing her cat bed that is his lap. Jongin gives up as soon as he finishes his coffee, apologizing to Luhan for cutting out earlier than usual and blaming it on a forgotten errand he needs to do before ‘work.’ The whole walk home, he can’t shake the image of Dyo’s lips nor the sound of the warm voice that comes out of them. It was already as though the guy’s whispers followed him everywhere he went, and now that he has the visual to go with it? It’s pure torture. He’s hot all over, and the humid air of this morning isn’t helping matters. He jogs the final few blocks to his apartment.

Bursting through the door, he drops his stuff and heads for a cold shower. He shampoos vigorously, like he can dislodge all his naughty thoughts and Dyo’s suggestive promises with enough Pantene. 

It doesn’t work.

He flops onto his bed, face down, and lets out a frustrated yell into the comforter. There’s no running away from this. It’s been building for days, since the first night they met, if he’s being completely honest. Okay, fine. It’s fine, he’s only human, everyone has needs.

Decision made, Jongin scrambles to his feet and turns out the lights, drawing the blackout curtains across his window. In the little shelter that darkness provides to help him hide from his shame, he slips into his bed, still nude from the shower. He relaxes back against the mattress, dropping a forearm across his forehead and finally letting the lust take over.

The moment he gives in, Dyo’s voice is all around him again.  _ “Hi again, sweetheart. You seem… excited. Missed me?” _ Jongin whimpers and lets his hand trail down his chest and abs, across his navel. By the time he’s feeling the light tendrils of hair leading down his abdomen, he’s bumping into his rapidly forming erection.

_ “You like my voice that much, huh?”  _ The velvety rumble in Dyo’s words is all Jongin needs to work up to full hardness. God, he can picture Dyo casually striding up alongside the edge of his bed, watching carefully but refusing to touch him, preferring to purr sweet nothings to him until his cock is rock hard, just to revel in the power that his delectable tone has over him.

_ “Play a game with me, darling,” _ he hears in that sultry voice.  _ “I think you’d really like it.” _ If he closes his eyes, he can actually imagine Dyo leaning over to whisper it right in his ear, soft lips brushing against his lobe. He lets a fingertip drag up along his cock.

Pretending that Dyo is right alongside him now, murmuring in his ear and barely touching his dick, has Jongin jolting a little, precum beading at the slit already. He smears it around the tip as he traces around the fattening cockhead and bucks lightly into the touch. The pressure isn’t enough yet to satisfy, but that seems fitting: Dyo would tease, wouldn’t he?

_ “Take your time, babe. We’re in no hurry.”  _ Jongin groans as the fingers skate down the sides of his dick lightly, then travel back up. He lets his fingertips drum gently against the shaft, the staccato touches making him ache with increasing need. He forces himself to submit to a few more minutes of barely there touches, occasionally rewarding himself with the pressure of a thumb dragging up the thick vein on the underside of his cock. His throat is already starting to dry out from all the heavy breathing. He licks his lips and conjures Dyo’s voice in his mind again before wrapping his hand loosely around the base of his cock.

_ “I like you, tiger.” _

Jongin pants start anew as he lets his hand start moving, traveling up and down his length at a slow pace. He lets his thumb roll up over the edge of the head to swipe more precum that’s weeping steadily through the slit now. He’s pumping his cock a little harder with each stroke, letting his moans fill the bedroom as his free hand goes to pull on his own hair.

The deep timbre of Dyo’s sinful chuckle reverberates in his mind. He imagines the man shifting from beside him to in between his legs, which he eagerly spreads. Right hand still sliding up and down his rigid dick, he envisions Dyo taking hold of his left hand in his hair and pinning it down to the bed, out to the side of his hips. Then, he hears his crush letting out a deep hum, looking down at him from where he kneels between his thighs and appreciating the view.  _ “So good, sugar.” _

“Oh fuck,” Jongin curses, thrusting up into his hand, now fully tightened around his shaft. He starts to reach for the bedside table before freezing, imagining Dyo force his wrist back down onto the mattress. Damn he wants to be under Dyo’s control like that; his body jerks at the idea, back arching off the bed.

But he needs that damn lube, so he swiftly snags the bottle, uncaps it, and dumps some into his right hand before tossing it back into the drawer in record time. He sees those plump lips from earlier, curled into a delicious, promising smirk.

_ “You want me to blow, huh?” _ Dyo’s words send a rush of anticipation through Jongin from head to toe. He imagines Dyo leaning down along the right side of his shaft and mouthing along the side by the base, letting the cockhead trail along his soft cheek. His tongue swipes out to lave at the length in small teasing licks as he travels up to the tip.  _ “I bet you’re delicious,”  _ comes the last sensual taunt, and then Dyo is finally wrapping those plush lips around his cock and sinking down to gradually swallow him whole.

“Hnnng, Dyo, yes, please,” he whines as he fucks into his lube-slicked hand, slow at first. Head turned to the side to gasp against his pillow and one hand pinned useless against the sheets, his hips lift off the bed and up into that all-too-willing mouth.

The pace accelerates to full throttle as Jongin feels himself losing control, over his imagination, his body, his sanity. The idea of fucking into Dyo’s hot mouth, having tremors of the operative’s passionate humming from earlier in the day massaging his dick, feeling the sinful tongue that turns Jongin inside-out on a daily basis with words alone work its way up and down his shaft: it’s all too much. With Dyo’s appreciative grunts echoing around in his mind, Jongin feels the pressure build exponentially, climbing higher and higher with each thrust of his hips and pump of his cock. He teeters on the brink of euphoria as long as he can, tears forming at the corners of his eyes from the overwhelming pleasure. Finally, he loses his hold on the moment and explodes, cum shooting out onto his chest in four, five, six long drags.

His throat hurts by the time he’s done rasping out his orgasm. He belatedly realizes he’s been alternating between the words “Dyo” and “fuck” for the past few minutes. Body completely spent, he lays exhausted, light-headed from what’s undeniably the best masturbation session he’s had in his life. Whacking off to a co-worker, though, it’s so wrong.

(But maybe it’s time to admit they’re not just co-workers. And maybe if Dyo knew, he wouldn’t actually mind…

Saucy bastard.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Big thanks to indigomini for beta'ing - I had to scrap a lot from this ch and rewrite it, and she was a great sounding board for what was just _wrong_ with the first draft. I love you, wife.
> 
> Ah, yes, all of those lines from Dyo during the masturbation scene are actual quotes he's said to Kai during missions, some as early as Ch 2. I've been meticulously planning this piece from the start; hope you enjoyed it. OTL
> 
> Talk with me in the comments! <3 I always reply ^^
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
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	9. Chapter 9

“Twizzlers.”

“Gross,” Dyo tuts at him. “Come on, you have better taste than that, honey.”

“It’s the only one I’ve had!” Kai racks his mind for any other foreign candies he’s tried. “Oh, I take it back: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Those were amazing,” he says, licking his lips.

“Ahh, nice choice,” Dyo hums approvingly. “Something creamy that melts in your mouth and goes down smooth.”

Kai gives a breathy laugh, acting like he’s not 1000% turned on by the innuendo and filing it away for later in the day when he’ll have a date with his hand. It’s been two weeks since he first indulged in masturbating to the thought of Dyo, and he’s all but given up pretending he doesn’t wank off to this guy on the reg now. The seal’s been broken. There’s no turning back. Who has that kind of self-control? Especially with Dyo serving up new eargasm candy every day.

It’s become part of The Routine. Work, cat cafe, mind-blowing orgasm before bed. On the handful of days he’s fought off the urge before sleep, Jongin woke up with morning wood so hard that his down comforter was six inches in the air. Then it’s breakfast, work out in biker shorts to minimize the floppage, and pleasuring himself in the shower instead. Hell, he’s taken to just leaving his dildo and some lube in there. His forearm plastered on the wet tile wall, forehead pressing against it as he fucks the toy in and out at a frantic pace, he can’t help the name he’s moaning. Listening to it reverberate around the steamy bathroom only makes him wonder how glorious Dyo’s voice would sound in there, bouncing off the walls while his hips are bouncing off his a--

“Baby?”

_ Shit.  _ “I’m here!” he says a little too quickly. He lost all control of his senses for a minute there, save for his sight. Thanks to extensive vigilance training, his eyes are perpetually locked on the green light flashing on his screen. It’s in the middle of the now complete floor of the building they’re mapping this evening. Dyo is done installing receivers, finally, and their missions tonight are focused on actually utilizing the tech inside of these (mostly) abandoned buildings. The maps are populating beautifully. It’s satisfying, to see their hard work pay off in such a tangible way.

“I lost you for a moment there, tiger. What were you thinking about?”

“You had me thinking about food.”  _ Dick. _ “I zoned out because I’m getting hungry.”  _ Thirsty. _

“Well we can’t have that. Just two more floors to go, right? Then we’ll get you fed, sweetheart,” Dyo says fondly, climbing the stairs to the fourth floor.

“‘Kay,” Kai replies, biting back a small smile. “You’ll want to go counterclockwise around this next floor. While you were downstairs, the sensors fleshed out the east side of this floor a bit better than the west side, so you might not even have to do the full circuit if you head to your right.”

“Thank you, my ever-efficient darling.”

A red light pings on his secondary screen, causing Kai to sit up and maneuver to the blueprint of the third floor they just finished. “You’ve got company down below. Traveling up the southwest stairwell. Can you access the outer room on your right? Looks like a typical office from here.”

A soft click signifies resistance of the door handle. “Negative,” Dyo whispers, awaiting the next directives.

“Try the inner room to your left - looks like maybe a copy room?” Kai suggests. Last one worth trying, then he’s making Dyo retrace his steps back toward the stairwell from whence he came and getting him the hell off this floor.

The metallic click sounds like victory this time, and Dyo puffs twice into his mic. Affirmative. Okay, good. Kai watches as the green light slips inside and moves along the wall that runs behind the door.

To lock or not to lock? Kai watches the red dot move methodically along the rectangular corridor. It’s pausing at each door to check them. Fuck. “Can you lock the door?” he asks, hoping no key is required.

Dual puffs.

“Okay, lock it--” he starts to instruct but pulls up short. “Wait.” The security guard is checking each door, leaving the locked ones alone, but the unlocked ones are only swung open halfway. Like he’s checking the status of the door rather than doing an actual sweep of the area… “Don’t lock it! Stay flat against the wall and don’t move,” he commands. 

Locked, locked, unlocked. Locked, locked, unlocked. There’s a pattern. The guard’s checking to make sure the pattern on the floor is consistent - to ensure no one’s been tampering with the rooms.

“Someone’s gonna open the door in about 10 seconds, but he’s not going to enter. Just stay out of sight.  _ Don’t  _ engage unless the guard enters, ok, Nightingale?” he pleads.

The softest set of puffs is all he gets in response. Kai holds his breath and steels himself as the red dot approaches Dyo’s door.

He can hear as well as see the door unlatch and swing partway open. For a terrifying second, it lingers… and then is snapped shut. The red light blinks its merry way down the hall to check the next door.

Kai exhales roughly. “Stay put. He’s got a few more to check, but he’s almost done and probably going to head to the next floor.”

Sure enough, the guard moves on, up to the next floor which they don’t have properly mapped. Since what goes up must come down, Kai decides Dyo should hang tight until the red dot is back in the security nest down on the first floor so there’s no second chance for an encounter.

“All clear. Thanks for following my lead,” he says sincerely.

“Of course. I trust you, tiger.” The tenderness in Dyo’s voice warms Jongin from the inside out. 

“It was a hunch. I don’t know if it was the  _ safest  _ move, but in the moment, I just--” he trails off.

“Sweetheart, you’re an excellent navigator. I trust your instincts - you should, too.”

The encouraging tone in his deep, honeyed voice has Kai imagining Dyo sitting across from him, plush lips pulled in a gentle smile. Dyo plays with Kai’s fingers with one hand and uses his other to brush back his hair and give Kai reassuring scratches along his nape.

If only dreams could become realities.

\---

Kai has been navigating less and less for Lay and Tao as the date for their big, travel-required operation approaches. Instead, they’ve been undergoing more frequent co-op trainings paired with Wendy and Chen. Kai would feel left out, except it means he gets more time exclusively with Dyo, and goodness knows, he’s not gonna complain about that. Aware that Prudence was really pushing Dyo to get all the receivers installed, Kai waived his usual day off the other week and worked straight through with him. But not without first getting Kris to agree to let them  _ both  _ have a day off at the end of the rush. He smiles, remembering how pleased Dyo was to have a day off to rest. 

_ ‘I won’t be around tomorrow, baby. Finally getting a day off - probably gonna sleep the whole time and dream of you. Don’t go finding a new favorite agent while I’m away.’ _

_ ‘I have the day off, too.’ _

_ ‘That’s… a lovely coincidence. I don’t suppose you had something to do with that, did you, sugar?’ _

_ ‘Rest well, Nightingale.’ _

He hopes Dyo is feeling as restored as he is now. It’s 9:55pm, and yesterday was a great respite but he’s anxious to get the evening started because ~40 hours without that chocolate voice in his ear is long enough. As Kai uses the slick coffee machine to fix cappuccinos for himself and the other navs, the crew sits at the breakroom table and discusses the plan for tomorrow.

“So we’re leaving shortly after the end of this shift and won’t be back for a few days,” Wendy announces. Her arm brushes against Chen’s as she leans forward on the table. She makes no move to withdraw as he seems to lean into it ever-so-slightly. Interesting.

“A few? How many agents are you taking with you, if I’m allowed to ask?” Kai probes.

“Eight,” Chen says.

“Don’t we only have nine on staff full-time?” Kai asks, confused. When he started working here, it was two regulars per navigator. Obviously, Dyo became his third but he’s not aware of--

“Ten,” Baekhyun interrupts. “But Suho’s starting paternity leave tomorrow - wife has a scheduled c-section. So essentially, we’ll be back down to nine again.”

Suho’s married with an almost kid? And Baek knows this? “Who else got a third regular?” Where has Kai been? Too far up Dyo’s ass, obviously.

“I did awhile ago,” Baek explains. “Her name’s Yeri.”

“She’s delightful,” Wendy says cheerily.

Baek’s mouth twists a little. “She’s something.”

Wendy swats his arm. “You just can’t handle her teasing. Some ‘tough guy’ you are. You can dish it but not take it.”

With a flourish, Baekhyun splays his hand across his chest. “I am **_perfectly_** capable of taking it, thank-you-very-much. This has nothing to do with her snappy teasing - you know I like feisty.” He accepts the cappuccino Kai is offering and side eyes Wendy. “Yeri’s just… a bit much.”

Chen snorts. “That’s rich, coming from you. In any case, yeah. It sounds like it’s just gonna be you two here in the office and your Dyo out in the field for a few days.”

Kai quickly takes a sip of his drink to camouflage the big grin on his face. His Dyo. His inner child loves that others recognize his rightful claim on the agent.

“So many maps I’ll be stuck annotating, uggghhh,” bemoans Baek, flopping dramatically onto the table. “At least bring me back a souvenir?” he pouts.

Kai checks his watch. “It’s 10:00. We need to get to work.” He wipes down the fancy coffee machine, still shiny as ever thanks to his meticulous care in cleaning up after each use. The others trickle out, and Kai notices Chen and Wendy link pinkies for the briefest of moments before going their separate ways to their workstations. Holy shit, Chen really did it.

Kai settles into his desk chair and completes an easy ‘retrieval’ mission with Tao. They bid their farewells, knowing it’ll be several days before they reconnect.

“I’ll miss you, Compass Kai.”

He rolls his eyes. “Take care of yourself out there, tacky Tao.”

“Tacky!?”

“I don’t know, I needed something with alliteration.”

“Tall Tao! Talented Tao! TreMENDOUS Tao!”

“Yes, yes. Timid Tao, you are not. Have fun on your trip, you big baby.”

He disconnects before the agent can retort. With a smile, he cleans up the mission materials, reassembling them into the envelope and dropping them into the incinerator. A quick bite to eat from the fridge, and he’s ready to talk to his favorite operative.

Except the next mission envelope to slide down the chute is for Lay. 

Kai pouts but belatedly realizes that of course he’d work with Tao and Lay first: they probably have to get ready to travel. Kai helps navigate him to the rooftop of an apartment complex and keeps watch while Lay does some basic reconnaissance on traffic patterns in the area.

“Is Wendy navving for you or Chen on this big… thing?”

“We’re operating more as a whole unit. It’s unique. Should be fun,” Lay replies.

It kinda does. Oh well. “Stay safe out there,” he says encouragingly.

“Thanks - take it easy while we’re off. Hope you don’t get too bored.”

Kai rolls his eyes. “I’ll try.” Like there’s any chance of being bored when he’s got Dyo.

Mission materials are shoved down to the incinerator in record time. Kai flies back to his chair, sitting in it so swiftly it spins around one full rotation before he clicks to accept the next mission. The envelope is snagged as soon as it appears and Kai connects them as he loads up the blueprints.

“I binged the first three episodes of Black Clover. It’s not bad.”

Dyo’s deep, nerdy laugh resounds over the line. “Hello to you, too, tiger. I missed you.”

Kai is all smiles as he arranges the maps on his screens. “Oh, these are familiar. Weren’t we here last week?”

“Such an observant boy,” Dyo coos. “Yes, we were. We’re making some… alterations to one of the receivers.”

This particular installation is in a busy section of town. Lots of pedestrian traffic around, out looking for a good time or heading home now having found it.

“So you’re dressed to blend in with the party-going crowds again today?” Kai asks, swallowing hard.

“Is that your sneaky way of asking what I’m wearing?” Dyo says, voice all coy and alluring.

He bites his lip. “Maybe.” Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

“Dark denim jeans, gray tee, black bomber jacket. Toolkit’s small. It’s strapped to the small of my back.”

The small of his back. Holy of holies, Kai hasn’t really spent much time daydreaming about that particular part of Dyo’s body but now it’s the only thing he can think of. How much does his silhouette dip before rounding out into whatever kind of ass this guy carries around?

Kai manages to squeak out something that sounds vaguely like, “okay,” and Dyo heads down the busy street and toward the familiar back alley from the prior mission.

_ “Hey there, handsome. How you doin’ tonight?” _

What the hell.

“I’m fine, but I’ve already got a date,” Dyo replies and keeps moving.

The streets are semi-crowded, but one particular red dot moves in tandem with the green one on Kai’s screen.  _ “I can promise you a better time, precious.” _

“Where exactly  _ are  _ you??” Kai inquires.

Dyo chuckles (at him or the girl propositioning him, Kai can’t be sure). “Not possible, but good luck out there.” Dyo keeps walking past his turn off for the alley.

“Go straight at the crosswalk to lose your new friend, and we’ll approach the alley from the other side instead,” Kai instructs sullenly.

Dyo hums, just barely audible over the sounds of the wind and other people chatting while crossing the street. The red dot that had been tailing him turns back, as predicted. He follows the directions Kai gives him faithfully, making a loop.

“I’m near the red light district,” he says once he’s back on track to their destination. “What kinds of places do you think we heavily surveil, sweetheart?”

Makes sense. Kai blushes thinking about all the sex happening inside these buildings where Dyo is working. But something about Dyo’s relaxed demeanor through the encounter makes Kai wonder. “You were quite at ease - used to people calling you handsome and trying to take you home, huh?”

“She’s just doing her job, and I was doing mine, which is blending in. A gruff ‘no’ might have attracted more attention in this instance,” Dyo dismisses. He’s made it back to their original target location: a back alley between two large buildings where they hooked up a receiver last week. It’s desolate, a barely visible pathway with no one on it. “Now, let’s get this enhanced wiretap under way, tiger.”

Dyo sets up shop to tinker with the electrical panel while Kai just keeps watch for any stray drunk stumblers (or worse) that might come his way. “So what do you like about Seoul, sugar?”

“Who says I like Seoul at all?” Kai sasses back with a quirked eyebrow.

“Okay, do you like Seoul?”

“… yes.”

“Mmmm, tell me why, darling.”

Kai pauses. “There’s always a lot going on.”

“And you… participate in these goings on? I didn’t peg you for a bro that goes clubbing.”

Kai laughs. “When would I even-- I’m always working when they’re open. You think I swing by and cram in an hour of sweaty dancing before showing up at Prudence? Or are there daytime clubs you know about?”

“Why, you wanna meet me at one, babe?” The wink, he can  _ hear  _ the wink in Dyo’s voice.

Kai falters, heart beating a little too fast. It’s just teasing. It’s just flirting. It’s not a real offer.

“Too much? Sorry,” Dyo totally misunderstands his silence as Kai freezing him out. “Back to what you were saying. There’s always a lot going on in Seoul…”

Kai licks his lips, unsure how much to say. “It distracts me.”

“From what?” Peppy electronic chirps suggest Dyo’s making good progress on his task.

“The fact that my life is… well, going nowhere right now.” Kai sits back in his chair and lets the honesty flow out. (It’s gotten easier to do so over the past two weeks.) “But if I close my eyes and just listen, I can pretend that I’m blending into the noise and the bustle and importance of the city. It gives the illusion of progress without the risk required to actually…  _ do _ something different.”

There’s a pause. “What exactly are you scared of, sweetheart?”

_ Wanting more than I deserve to have.  _ “I don’t know. I should be content, life’s comfortable and all. Somedays, I just feel… stuck.” He leans on his desk, resting his chin on his forearms and watching the steady green dot blink on the screen.

The metallic tinkling of tools halts completely, and Dyo’s voice is smoother than ever when he responds, like a blanket falling over Kai. “You’re not the only one who feels lost, you know. I think… I mean sure, there are lots of people who’ve got a big plan and they tick off all the boxes and congrats! Picturesque life. But surely there are other ways. Like if you do what you’re good at, it might not be enough, but you keep doing it and, I don’t know... with a little luck, people can eventually stumble into happiness? Maybe sometimes, it finds them instead?” There’s a heavy pause. “I’d like to think so, anyway.”

“That’s a nice thought.” Kai’s lips curl into a small smile.

“I’m a nice guy. Well. Sometimes,” Dyo vacillates with a mischievous tone.

“Yes, yes, sometimes you’re nice, sometimes you’re naughty.” Kai rolls his eyes, but he’s sporting a huge grin. “Are you done there yet?”

Dyo’s amused giggle is music to his ears. “Oh no, I’ve become too predictable. You’re anticipating my carefully constructed zingers too often these days, beautiful.”

“Carefully constructed? That’s a bit of a reach,” Kai teases back. They continue playfully bickering until a band of partygoers enters the alley and flushes Dyo out the other side. Luckily, he’s already completed the task at hand.

“The surveillance device is configured to actually pick up the data going through the lines now, not just receiving the info being pinged from the building scanners. This means all the phone lines around here  _ should  _ be tapped if we toggle the audio capture on,” he explains, striding with purpose somewhere further down the block.

A payphone.

“Okay, now to test it. Give me your number, baby.”

Kai’s eyes widen. He chew on his lip as he contemplates the request. He drops his voice to a whisper, checking to see if his co-workers are wandering about. “M-my number?” He glances at his cell phone. Does he dare? Is this crossing a li--

“Yeah, you have a work number right?” Dyo asks innocently.

The clunky business phone sits on Kai’s desk, mocking him. He pinches the bridge of his nose, internally cursing at himself. Of course. Damn, that was a close call. “Yeah, sure,” he reads it out to his operative. He’s never actually used it while navigating before, just internally in the building.

In moments, it’s ringing. Jongin removes his navigation headset and picks up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Hey.” Dyo’s voice is gentler than usual.

“Hey.” Jongin repeats, tone matching Dyo’s. They’re on the  _ phone. _ Like two, normal people. They sit there in silence before-

“Okay, say something naughty, tiger,” Dyo says in his typical smarmy voice.

Kai blows a raspberry. “I once snuck out of class to see Howl’s Moving Castle.”

An amused chuckle floats through the phone, and Jongin finds himself smiling and leaning back in his office chair, propping his feet up on his desk. “Aw, come on. Gimme something good, sugar.”

“What?? No. I’m not putting something... like that into company records.”

“I haven’t turned on the audio tracker yet, this is just for  _ my _ personal records,” Dyo persuades.

“This sounds like abuse of company time, mister. I should report you,” Kai threatens with a smirk playing upon his lips. His voice deepens on its own as he teases, “You’re so bad.”

Dyo hums. “Okay, that was actually pretty sexy, I’ll take it.” A few clicks sound in the background. “I’m going to switch the receiver to record audio, verify with a few questions to you, and then I’m going to let it keep running, so when we hang up, mission complete. Sound okay to you?”

Not really. He doesn’t want to hang up at all. Talking to Dyo like this, on real phones rather than headsets, feels… more intimate. Natural. Jongin wants this so bad it hurts. He swallows and says, “Yeah, okay.”

“Alright, testing for recording capabilities starting… now. What city are we in?”

“Seoul.”

“Mmhmm, and what year is it?”

“2017.”

“And what’s your favorite bird?”

Kai cracks a smile. He hums and pretends to think carefully. “I’d have to say…” He drags it out. “A nightingale.”

There’s a stillness as they each stay on the line a touch longer than necessary. “Talk to you tomorrow,” Dyo says fondly as he hangs up.

\---

When Kai steps off the elevator to the navigation floor at 9:45pm the next day, Baekhyun is rapidly shoving something behind his back in the break room and looking guilty as fuck.

“Chen and Wendy already left this morning, remember? It’s just me. I know about the socks. I still think it’s gross, but whatever, I’m over it by now,” Kai flaps a hand dismissively at him.

“Oh good,” Baek says, but there’s something not quite right about his posture. He hasn’t relaxed at all.

Kai tries to round on him, and Baekhyun pivots, turning to keep his back hidden.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

Kai tries to peek over Baek’s shoulder, and the idiot backs up, like this will deter him. Done with his shit, Kai grabs him by the lapels and spins him around. Stuffed into the back of his waistband is a treasure trove of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups packages.

“Okay, fine!” Baekhyun huffs, yanking them out and throwing them on the break room table. “I’ll share.”

“Where’d you get these.” Like he doesn’t already know.

“There was a nice gift package sent up for the navigation team. Probably someone feeling sorry for us getting shafted and left behind while everyone else gets to do the mission of the year,” he pouts, evenly dividing the stack into six and six.

“Where’s the card?” Kai asks, curious about the note.

“I sent it to the incinerator.”

Kai’s hand takes on a life of its own and smacks Baek’s bicep, maybe a little harder than intended. “Why?!”

“Ow! So you wouldn’t know where they came from, duh. This is what I get for telling the truth and sharing my bounty??” he rubs his arm and pouts.

“It wasn’t  _ your _ bounty. You--” Kai shuts up. “This is mine now,” he retorts, pointedly snatching a seventh Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup to add to his stash and carrying them off to his desk.

“Bully!” Baek yells after him.

There’s not a mission waiting for him when he gets to his desk, sadly. Kai eats his chocolate therapy while he annotates maps for the first two hours of the shift. He’s getting antsy - Dyo wasn’t getting the day off today, where is their mission? Is Baekhyun stealing his time with the agent like he stole his candy?

Kai’s dashboard suddenly pops up a new mission in his queue.  _ Finally. _

The mission briefing describes the thorough mapping of a very large complex. Sounds perfect, a nice long evening with Dyo. 

Kai connects his headset and gets straight to the point. “Baek got here first and almost stole them all.”

Deep guffaws pass over the line. “I’m sorry, babe. But the note said to share!”

“He burned the note, I never even got a chance to see it.”

“Maybe you should get to work earlier,” Dyo teases.

“I do! I’m always here early. Baek’s just… earlier for some reason. But thank you. I never see them at the grocery, even in the international section. Where did you even find these?”

“I… have my ways,” he says elusively.

“Well, thank you, again. They were just as amazing as I remember them.”

“Did you eat them all already, sweetheart?”

“No. I just had…” he counts the wrappers on his desk, “...three packages.”

Dyo sputters a laugh. “Have a little self-control, sugar.”

“That’s only one peanut butter cup every twenty minutes, come on. It’s not that bad!” Kai insists. They fall into their relaxed conversation and set about mapping out the five-story building complex. The building is completely abandoned, even moreso than usual. Not a red dot in sight the whole first, second, third, or fourth floor.

He’s recounting the most recent episode of Black Clover to Dyo when suddenly he hears the operative curse under his breath.

“Oh, fuck me.”

It’d be a ridiculous turn on if Dyo didn’t sound deathly concerned. Kai sits up straighter at his desk, eyes scanning the screen and seeing nothing unusual on this fifth floor which they’re almost finished rounding on, except for one big empty corner.

“What’s wrong, Dyo?”

The next few seconds seem to last a lifetime. He hears a distant shout, followed by a series of scuffling noises, like the operative is rolling across the floor as he dives for a side room. Then there’s suddenly more shouting, too many voices to pick out from one another, and then-- Gunfire. Five, ten, fifteen, maybe more, bullets seem to fly in overlapping succession. 

Where the hell are they coming from?? Kai’s mouth goes dry, eyes repeatedly searching the maps, but there’s no red dots. None  _ anywhere _ . He forgets to breathe, waiting in the quiet for some sign of life on the other side of the line.

Thank every higher power in existence, Dyo’s green light is on the move, back out of the room he rolled into and… taking off down the hallway toward the large empty room?

“Dyo, get out of there!” Kai panics. “I can’t see anyone! There’re no red dots showing--”

“Howler 1288, I REPEAT, 1288!” Dyo’s voice suddenly screams into the receiver, moments after he’s made it inside the large room.

The code is foreign to Kai. His mind is desperately scanning through all the codes he knows from his 495 days on the job and coming up blank. A detached female voice interrupts their channel. “Code 1288 acknowledged.”

“What the fuck was that??” Kai blurts out, in equal parts questioning the code and the unknown computerized voice.

There’s a dull  _ thwack  _ on the operative’s side of the line that sounds an awful lot like a fist meeting a jaw. There’s still NO FUCKING RED on this map. Thankfully, the groan that emanates doesn’t sound like Dyo’s, but Kai only has a split second of relief before he hears more commotion in the background. More voices approaching. Shouting.

Kai jumps out of his chair in frustration, feeling fucking useless against a completely invisible enemy. An incomprehensible mess of sickening thuds, too many to count, float over the airwaves. This time, one moan sounds unmistakably like Dyo.

After a ragged breath, Dyo’s voice shouts in his ear, with panic like Kai’s never heard before. “Fuck! Jongin, get Mimi and Luhan out of Insadong by noo—”

“Transmission terminated,” interrupts the mysterious female voice.

“What?! No! Dyo! DYO! Nightingale, can you hear me??” 

The blinking green dot on Kai’s screen abruptly stops. As does his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big hugs to indigomini as always for beta'ing. Talk with me in the comments ;)
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo  
>   
>  [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [Curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	10. Chapter 10

Trembling, Kai’s eyes scan his computer monitor for half a minute, as if it’ll give some clue where Dyo has gone. “Come on, come on, come on,” he chants under his breath. “Get back online, get back, God please.” He starts to click desperately through the other layers of the building plans in the program until they vanish as well, with a yellow TRANSMISSION TERMINATED message overlaying on the screen.

Dyo’s router is now offline.

“FUCK!” Kai throws his mouse against the back of his cubicle wall. What now? What is he supposed to do now??

Hands clenched in his hair, Kai slows his labored breathing down and tries to re-center. He can’t lose control. Dyo's counting on him. He swallows back the panic and focuses. Right. The post-mission routine. Even though there’s nothing remotely fucking routine about this. He gathers the mission materials and slips them back into the manila envelope from whence they came. Only this time, their destination won't be the incinerator.

He doesn’t dare leave his work station, on some miracle that Dyo manages to get back online, but he can’t stay here. Every second he stands here waffling is another second wasted. “BAEKHYUN!” he all but screams. “BAEK, get your ass over here!”

His screeching echoes down the empty hall, and a startled Baekhyun comes around the corner seconds later, face filled with appropriate concern. Kai practically throws his headset at him. “Dyo was mid-conflict with an unknown number of enemies when we got disconnected. No heat readings to tell where they were coming from. Put this on and watch in case he comes back.” He’s shaking, everything feels surreal. This can’t be happening. “I gotta go, I gotta--”

“Go. Kris. Seventh floor.” Baekhyun helps him zero in, speaking in a controlled tone as he puts the headset on and immediately parks himself in front of Kai’s screen.

Kris. He’s got to get this to Kris, now. Dyo’s life is hanging in the balance.

_ "I trust you, tiger." _

With this in mind, Kai sprints to the stairwell. Forget the elevator, there’s no time for that. He runs up three floors, taking the steps two at a time, and bursts through the door into the spacious reception area for the top executive offices. The administrative assistant stationed there startles at his disheveled approach.

“Can I help you?”

“I need to see Kris. Now. Failed mission,” he pants out.

“He’s on the phone with an important matter. You can leave the file with me, and I’ll make sure—“

“No, I need to see him  _ now _ . This is urgent!” Kai doesn’t wait for further permission, marching past the receptionist’s desk and straight into the his boss's office, slamming the door behind him and flipping the lock to keep her out.

The large leather executive chair swivels around to showcase Kris, glaring at the intruder. "Now's not a good time," he whispers at Kai, pointing to the phone in his hand.

"It's an emergency," Kai explains, striding over to the desk.

'In a  _ minute,'  _ Kris mouths at him, scowling before angling the chair away and returning to his call. “Yeah, the navigator just got to my office. How quickly can we get the President on the-- what the fuck?!"

There’s no way in hell Kai is going to let professional niceties get in his way right now: Understanding Kris' intention to keep ignoring him until the phone call ends, he yanks the cord from the device to solve that issue and launches straight to the point. “Sir, the mission assigned to me and Dyo today – something went wrong. There was gunfire, and then Dyo was yelling some code, a 1288? Which prompted an unknown system voice to enter our secure line. There was a scuffle that sounded like hand-to-hand combat before the transmission was cut off. I think he’s been captured. We have to do something, immediately. Here’s the case file.” Kai thrusts the envelope at his boss after his rapid fire debrief. Kris will know what to do. He’s  _ got  _ to know what to do.

Kris tilts his head to the side, popping his neck but keeping his permanently impassive face in place. He takes the envelope and slides the case file out just enough to scan the mission objectives at the top. “Did you navigate Dyo all the way through the specified location?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Was his router pinging back the remaining areas of the building that we were missing on the floorplans, without any issues?”

“Yes sir, I believe we have a complete map of the area now.” Hope surges within him, recognizing this advantage. “It should make retrieving Dyo a lot easier, thankfully.”

Kris' eyes flit back and forth over the page, but it doesn't seem like he's reading it. More like he's deliberating. He purses his lips and slips the paper back inside the envelope, returning it to Kai. “Then mission accomplished. Burn it.”

“Sir?” He must have heard wrong.

Kris frowns, turning to his cell phone that buzzes with new texts coming in. “You guys did what you were charged to do," he says dismissively while distracted with texting back. "The mission was successful. Follow protocol and send everything to the incinerator.”

Kai gapes in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

The boss levels an intimidating glare at him. “You know I am.”

“What about Dyo??”

“Under different circumstances, I’d have different orders, but this is bigger than him. And he knew the risks associated with the job.”

Kai sees red, a bright crimson anger from deep within that boils up and over. Before he is aware of what he’s doing, Kai catapults himself over Kris’s desk and has his boss in a vicious grip by the tie. “He knew the  **_risks_ ** ? Did he really know you’d dispose of him so quickly, leave him to fend for himself, because you can’t be inconvenienced right now??”

Kris doesn’t even flinch, staring back coldly. “Yes. He did. Dyo knows better than anyone that this place is a business, not a charity. Now I suggest you keep your hands to yourself and go back to your desk,  _ Kai _ .” In one swift movement, Kris cuffs Kai's wrists off of his tie and attempts to bend them into some complicated knot behind the navigator’s back. Kai dodges the move and uses Kris’s momentum against him, pulling him up out of the chair. Running on pure instinct and basic defense training, he scuffles with Kris, managing to twist their positions and effectively pin his boss’s arms behind his back. Go back to his desk?? And act like Dyo never happened?! Fuck that. 

“No, you’re going to  _ fix _ this!” he yells at Kris. Deep down, a small part of him blames the boss, the whole company, for doing this, putting Dyo in peril. And they’re  _ going _ to make it right again. He can’t reach through the screen and throttle Dyo’s captors; he’s only got Kris here, and by God he’s not letting go until they have a plan to get his partner back. In his desperation, he slams Kris face first into the back wall before resting his whole weight against him and trying to talk again.

“Dammit, we don’t have  _ time  _ for this!” Kris grunts at him, struggling against his hold.

“You’re right, we don’t! Dyo is out there, and no one is helping him!” Kai argues back. He turns Kris around so they’re face to face again, pinning him by the shoulders to scream his case once more. “I can’t- you can’t expect me to just abandon my partner like this. This is  _ wrong _ !” It goes against every instinct of his, as a navigator, as an honest man, as--

“I don't like it either!” Kris admits. He glances at the door, where his assistant is rattling the handle repeatedly and sounds of muffled frustration filter through the cracks. Kai couldn’t give a fuck. He thunks Kris against the wall again to get his attention back on him. His boss grunts and flashes a look of annoyance at him. “Look... you’re a good worker, Kai. I  _ need  _ you to fall back in line on this one. There’s more at stake than one agent.”

One agent. Like that even begins to encompass who Dyo is and what he means to him. Kai bites down on the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming all the emotions aloud. He keeps a tight grip on Kris’ shirt as feels himself breaking, the anger he’s been running on slowly giving way to a deep and terrifying pain rising to the surface.

Unfortunately, Kris is only heating up, struggling back against Kai with more intensity as the door handle continues to shake and his cell continues to buzz away on the desk. “I can’t waste any more time on this, and  _ you  _ need to come to your fucking senses! Maybe I’d understand it if it was Tao, but Dyo’s been here for what, a month? You don’t even know the guy,” Kris spits at him. The words disarm Kai enough that Kris is able to shove off the wall and out of his grip, leaving the navigator in stunned contemplation while Kris gathers things from his desk in a rush to leave.

_ ‘You don’t even know the guy.’  _ Jongin’s heart lurches as every fiber of his being disagrees.  _ He’s quick with jokes. Doesn’t follow dramas, but can recite episode 87 of Prince of Tennis word for word. Sings like an angel and is more considerate than a whole holy choir of them. He prefers jjajangmyeon to tteokbokki, soulful ballads to cheesy pop. And he’s the best damn partner I’ve ever had. _ Kai turns, positioning himself carefully between Kris and the door. This isn’t over.

“He called me Jongin,” he confesses. “Right before we got cut off. Told me to get my two closest friends out of Insadong by noon. He… he  _ knows  _ me, somehow.”

“Oh fucking  _ hell,  _ there’s a REASON why we have rules around this shit!” Kris bites out, still shoving papers into his briefcase. He slams it shut on his desk and rubs a hand over his eyes. He searches Jongin’s face and seems to conclude the personal knowledge is not because Kai decided to break protocol. He sighs, shoulders sagging forward as he leans onto his desk. When he picks his head back up, Kris’s expression is disturbingly open, the mask completely dropped. “Listen,” he levels with him, “it’s not that I don’t care. But we don’t even have any operatives in the vicinity to send out on a rescue mission, as you well know.”

No. No, it’s an excuse, a sick lie from a boss that just wants him to fuck off. There’s always someone. They could pull… surely there’s… Dread slowly creeps in as Jongin stands with mouth open and no words on his tongue to combat the helpless situation. It’s not a ploy. Kris is right: the whole team is gone, unreachable, out of the city (country?), on their massive mission. There’s no one here. There’s  _ no one to help _ . Kris is staring at him, watching him carefully catch up to what Kris has already understood from the moment Jongin barged into his office.

There’s only him and Baek.

_ "I trust you, tiger." _ No. No no no, this can't be it.

Concluding that Jongin finally understands the situation, Kris turns away to grab his suit jacket. He’s going to leave. He’s going to leave and walk out the door, taking with him any remaining hope to save Dyo from whatever fate he’s faced with, whatever suffering he’s currently experiencing, alone and abandoned--

“I’m going after him.” Jongin tells him matter-of-factly, voice like steel.

Kris scoffs, shrugging into the jacket. “Get real.”

His resolve doesn’t waver. “With or without your help, I’m going.” There’s no choice, really. This awful reality he’s hurtling toward was set in motion weeks ago and can’t be undone. 

_ “It’s nice _ …  _ to have someone worry over me.”  _ He’s all Dyo has got. If there was a better option, he’d take it, but if it’s him or no one... then so be it. He’s going.

“You wouldn’t even know where to  _ go, _ Kai.” Kris dismisses, prepared to march past him.

Undeterred, he presses onward. “There are only so many five-story buildings with that kind of square footage on relatively desolate corners in Seoul. And Baekhyun will help me, he could--”

The change in demeanor is instantaneous: Kris grabs him by the collar, eyes widened and mouth dropped open to yell just as the personal assistant finally succeeds in keying into the room, glaring at Kai. “Sir,” she interrupts, “we've got a face-to-face with the president set-up. They expected you five minutes ago already.”

Kris is staring daggers into Jongin’s eyes, who meets the glare with cold determination, watching his boss seethe with rapid, heated breaths that gradually even out. A long blink, and then Kris is letting go of his shirt and speaking in his typical, unaffected tone. “I have to go. You’ve had a rough night, Kai. Take a sick day.”

“A sick day??” He glowers at Kris, icy defiance clear on his face. “No, I--”

“Yes,” Kris says firmly, staring him straight in the eyes and pausing. “You should take a  _ sick day _ . I know you’ve never taken one before, so let me remind you of the protocol for doing so. You need to stop by HR on the 2nd floor. I’ll call ahead so they know you’re approved for it. They’ll have some  _ paperwork  _ you’ll need.”

Kai understands immediately. Paperwork. Maybe the full, original case file with all the background work for this mission; at the very least, the address Dyo was sent to. A starting place. “Yes, sir. I’ll do that.”

“Stop at our off site clinic for some medical supplies. If you have questions, Baekhyun should be able to walk you through the process. Over the phone,” he adds, an edge of warning in his instruction.

Equipment. Right. He'll need gear, if he's going to do this. And he  _ has  _ to do this. Baek is to navigate. This is the mission briefing sheet, put together in real time by Kris. Kai’s objective is clear as day: Get back his nightingale.

“Take care of yourself,” Kris calls, giving him a once over. “I’d hate to lose a good navigator.”

And then he’s gone, rushing out the door with his assistant in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh God, it's happening. I'm nervous - pass along good thoughts as I keep crafting the next ch (it's ~1/4 written so far). Massive thanks to indigomini for being the bestest beta as I fumbled my way thru this ch- she is a treasure ♡ Please stress with me in the comments <3
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo  
>    
>  [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [Curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	11. Chapter 11

Kai runs a hand through his hair as he catches his breath and takes stock of his situation. First, he needs to go to HR to get the original case file. Wait no… Kris is going to need a minute to send in the authorization. Okay, rather than waste time waiting around for it, he should check in with Baekhyun.

Kai charges down the stairwell back to the navigation floor. As he strides up to his desk, he notices Baekhyun has maps up and is clicking through various levels. Kai’s heart races. By some miracle, is Dyo back online?

Baekhyun notices him approach and gives him a wry grin. “No word from Dyo, but I got the maps up from the database, so you’re ready to navigate in case...” He trails off bleakly.

Kai looks at his desk, the safe familiarity of his chair where he’s lead more than a thousand missions. Here, he feels in control. At home. It’s as natural as breathing. But one look at the blank floorplan of the building on the screen, with no comforting green light in sight, and he knows exactly where he wants to be,  _ needs _ to be right now.

“Here,” he points, tapping on the large corner room on the fifth floor. “This is where Dyo was when we got cut off. I have to get there, and I’ll need you to lead me.”

Baekhyun stares up at him from the chair, eyes wide and mouth agape. It’s an eerie moment, seeing Baek speechless. He looks back and forth between the screen and Kai before responding. “I’m sorry - I’m gonna have to ask you to repeat that, because I’m pretty sure you just asked me to help you get yourself killed?”

Fucking hell. “There’s no one else available - it  _ has  _ to be me.”

Why does this feel like a replay from just minutes before? Baekhyun is leaning back in the chair, chewing on his lip as he seems to evaluate Kai. He doesn’t say anything, though, steepling his fingers and waiting. Kai’s instincts tell him Baek is more likely to be won over by the truth than by directives from above.

“Look, the coffee machine? The Reeses? Those were from Dyo. From Dyo to  _ me _ .” He slaps his own chest, emphasizing the words, as he feels himself starting to break apart. “So I’m going. I’m going and--”

“Okay,” Baek interrupts. “Damn, I didn’t realize it had reached that-- Okay, I’m in. But first tell me: Is this renegade or on the books?”

God bless him. He was going to help either way. Kai can’t help but crush Baekhyun’s head in an awkward hug. “On the books. Well, unofficially on the books?”

Baek thumps him on the back a few times until Kai releases his head. “Kris gave you a quiet go-ahead?”

Kai nods. “I need to go down to HR to get paperwork.”

“Ah, yes. Ask for Ken. He’s my favorite down there. He’ll hook you up quickly. I’ll get another batch of coffee going, since it seems we’ll need it.” Baekhyun goes to stand, and Kai narrows his eyes at him.

“You’ve known how to use the coffee machine all this time.”

“Hey, people respond in amazing ways in times of stress. I just suddenly feel flooded with knowledge and understanding - it’ll probably disappear by tomorrow!” he warns as he trots to the break room.

It’s a miracle that Kai is able to crack a smile under the circumstances, but he does as he tears down the stairs, headed for the second floor.

As it turns out, he doesn’t have to ask for him, because Ken is manning the human resources counter and has a navy blue envelope pulled out with Kai’s name on it. He accepts it gratefully and bows in thanks as he leaves the office to head straight back to his floor.

“Bring it in here,” Baekhyun says, waving him into the break room and offering him a freshly brewed latte. “Let’s see what exactly we’re dealing with, then get you on your way to the warehouse to get outfitted.”

Kai tosses the envelope on the table but remains standing. He doesn’t want to sit. Doesn’t want to waste anytime here when the clock is ticking and he could be heading after his nightingale. Baek seems to read his mind.

“You need a plan, dumbass. This is crazy enough as it is, but your chances of survival diminish rapidly if you try to pull a Rambo without even looking at the file first. At least know what Dyo knew going into this mission,” Baekhyun reasons, pulling him down into a chair.

Kai nods, acknowledging the practical words, and pulls out the contents from the indigo folder, spreading them neatly on the table. He frowns. There’s less in here than he had anticipated, only two sheets. Agents apparently don’t get much more to go on than the navigators do.

_ Mission Objective: Complete the floorplan map of DD’s satellite headquarters. _

The rest of this sheet is filled with technical specs on the equipment Dyo was to take into the field. They don’t mean much to Kai so he passes it Baekhyun and examines the next page. This one mentions that the mission is being assigned now due to low chances of enemy encounters. Deployment location: Gangdong-gu.

Half an hour away. This is good news. Kai checks his watch: 3am. He can be there soon. Seoul hasn’t woken up yet; the roads should be pretty clear at this hour.

While he’s processing this, Baekhyun is already writing down the geographic coordinates of the precise location for him on a yellow sticky note, along with another set of numbers. Before he can ask what they’re for, Baek slaps the sticky note onto Kai’s forehead.

“Our equipment warehouse is five blocks south, two blocks east. Gray building, no number, knock five times on the side door. I’ll make sure they know you’re coming. Call me at the number on the post-it if you get lost. Now go.”

Kai pulls the sticky note off his face and races out the door. As he thunders down the stairs, he visualizes the directions in his mind. Five blocks south, two blocks east. Thank heavens for the cardio he’s been doing every morning; he sprints the half mile with ease. He raps on the door five times with one hand, the other clutching the yellow paper like a lifeline.

The door swings open, and a lanky guy asks him gruffly. “What do you want?”

“I’m Kai. I’m here on… business.” Fuck, someone  _ did _ call ahead for this right?

Lanky dude waves him inside. “Kai, I’m N. Baek mentioned you need full gear for this.”

“Uh… yes.” Yes? “Actually, can I get him on the line--” As if anticipating this, N hands him a headset. The operative version is sleeker than the one Kai has in the office. The ear monitor slips in smoothly, and he’s got Baekhyun yammering at him almost instantly.

“You mentioned no heat readings on the enemies that were attacking Dyo?”

Hearing it spoken aloud makes the terror of the entire situation flood back to him. “Yeah…” Meanwhile, N is handing him an all black outfit and pointing him to a bathroom to get changed.

“Those fucking  _ assholes. _ Still have our cloaking units, damn them,” Baek spews over the line.

Wait, who? “You know who DD is? The guys who took Dyo?”

“Rival spy group. I’ll catch you up on the drive over.” Baek dismisses. “First things first: when was the last time you shot a gun?”

“At mandatory in-service last quarter. I’m good.” Prudence makes every employee, even those with desk jobs, complete basic self-defense training and target practice “just-in-case.” The special situations listed in the employee handbook Kai has memorized are things like an attack at the office or, heaven forbid, someone accosting the desk jockeys on the way to or from work to squeeze them for info. Well, today, “just-in-case” covers when you have to go into the field on a moment’s notice to save your partner.

“No, you’re not  _ ‘good,’ _ ” Baekhyun counters. “The last thing we need is you shooting wildly under duress. Do one round of target practice with both pistols N is going to give you.”

Kai exits the bathroom clad in a skintight black tee, black cargo pants, and combat boots. N is right there, swiftly fitting him with a shoulder holster and putting a lightweight vest on him with built in location sensors and 3D cam. Next, he hands Kai two 9mm Glocks. “Magazines hold fifteen rounds each. Hope you won’t have to test those limits,” he says solemnly.

A tool belt is wrapped around his waist, with a small black box attached on the back that N identifies as his cloaking device. In the side pouch, there’s a taser and reinforced zip ties as a less lethal option for subduing.

“Tell him you need the thermal booster, the one that’s still in beta testing. Based on the original case file, Dyo only had the standard issue on,” Baekhyun relays to him.

Kai requests this of N, gritting his teeth after the guy goes to look for one. “And why? Why didn’t they equip him with the best gear before sending him into the lion’s den?”

“Settle down there, loverboy. From every indication they had, this was supposed to be recon in an abandoned building. No one was supposed to  _ be there _ .”

Kai squares up in the shooting range inside the warehouse and empties both firearms into the targets at 5, 10, and 20 meter distances. N brings the targets up for inspection. Not bad: All bullets hit the target, some spread around the center at the furthest distance, but a reasonably tight grouping on the closer distances. 

N nods approvingly. “Keep in mind it’ll be different out there with the adrenaline, but good work.”

Kai nods as he puts on the wrist monitor that’ll allow him to see the scaled down version of the maps on Baekhyun’s screens back in the office. This watchface is so small - it’s going to irritate him to no end, but whatever. He isn’t supposed to focus on this anyway. Just on Baek’s directions. He takes a deep, steadying breath. “Transport?” he asks N.

“Not so fast, soldier. Grappling holds with N first,” Baekhyun instructs.

“We can’t waste any more time!” he argues.

“We can’t afford  _ not _ to do this,” comes the retort. “Just the basics.”

He and N go through the motions, Kai breaking out of a few cross wrist grabs and an arm lock from behind. Kai checks his watch: 3:20am. “No more - get me on the road already.”

N agrees. “Send him,” he says, loud enough for Baek to hear.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Baekhyun says with conviction.

N slaps a black cap on Kai’s head, tosses him a set of car keys, and gives him a two finger salute goodbye. “God speed, rookie.” 

Kai slips inside a nondescript black sedan parked by the metal garage doors that N is manually raising up for him. He fires up the engine, inputting the GPS coordinates off the sticky note in his pocket. Twenty-five minutes away. Breaking traffic laws, probably closer to fifteen. “Tell me more about these DD fuckers,” he demands of Baek as he peels out of the warehouse.

His navigator sighs in his ear before explaining. “Short version? Their agency is known as Dignified Discretion, but I prefer to call them Dickless Douchebags. They’ve been trying to encroach upon our client base here in Seoul. Their firm was founded in Busan, but apparently there’s not enough business to keep them occupied there.”

“...are you telling me Dyo’s life is in danger because of a fucking  _ turf war? _ ” Kai’s grip in the steering wheel tightens and twists as he floors it through a red light.

“Not exactly. ‘Til now, they’ve been unscrupulous vultures who are better at petty theft than innovative espionage. Have been stealing tech out of our R&D department for the better part of a year. You’ve had retrieval missions with Tao to get back several of our cloaking units they nabbed.”

Kai purses his lips, realizing how it fits together. Wait. He frowns; he knew he was relatively out of the loop compared to the other navs with respect to the big team mission, but his personal missions with Tao should be classified. “How do you even know about this?”

“I miiiiight have written some of your mission briefing sheets lately.”

“Wha--why?”

“Uh… because I’m sleeping with Kris and sometimes we lose track of time.”

“WHAT?!?” He slams on the brakes reflexively. The idea of his boss and Baek scrambling to get mission orders completed in time for shift start, Baek always being early to work more recently, Kris suddenly agreeing to let Kai to go on this mission once he mentioned roping Baek in-- “Fucking WHAT!?!”

“Fucking each other, yes. Okay, do you want to waste time hearing the long story of how our very sexy affair started, all the flirty stares and sweaty bodies--”

“STOP.”

“--or do you want to focus on saving silky voice Dyo from the baddies?” Baekhyun sasses. 

Kai’s still reeling from the information, but narrows back in on the only thing that can be his concern right now: getting to Dyo and getting him out safely.

“Tell me what I need to know to save Dyo.”

“Right. So now that the dick’s out of the bag, I can tell you that Kris has been texting me since you left. From what I’ve gathered, Dyo called a 1288,” Baekhyun says grimly.

“Yeah, that’s right. He made it to the fifth floor, approaching from the northeast stairwell, when he was ambushed. Enemy fire- he might’ve returned some, I’m not positive- and then he took off for the corner room, our current target, yelling Howler 1288,” Kai relays, the hairs on his arm standing up as the chaos replays in his mind.

_ “Code 1288 acknowledged.” _ The eerie computerized voice cuts into their line.

“Shit.” Baekhyun speaks up quickly and loudly. “Authorization override: 90116. Cancel that ‘Howler 1288.’” 

_ “Authorization approved. Code 1288 cancelled.” _

“What is that damn artificial voice?!” Kai exclaims.

“That code is a failsafe, triggers our emergency system. It sends notification straight to senior management,” Baekhyun explains.

“And why do you know this and have authorization to cancel it but I don’t?”

“So you  _ do _ want me to go over the dirty details of sleeping with Kris--”

“NO. Just,” Kai shudders. “Explain the code.”

“Well… 1288 signifies discovery of planned chemical warfare. And howler means it’s aimed at the civilian population.”

What the everloving  _ fuck _ . “But, I thought you said this was a rival espionage firm??”

“Yeah, I don’t really understand their motive either,” Baekhyun admits. “Still tumbling that one through my mind. But all signs suggest this is pretty fucking serious.”

Kai exhales a shaky breath. “That would explain Dyo hurtling headlong into that godforsaken room instead of trying to escape like I told him.”

“Wait- I thought he just got captured. He ran  _ to _ the room, not away from it?” Baek asks, surprised.

Kai bites his lip as he presses the accelerator down as far as it goes, speeding through a straight stretch of highway. “Yeah.”

It’s quiet for a moment, before Baekhyun murmurs. “He’s a good egg, your Dyo.”

Tears brim in Kai’s eyes before he blinks them away. Why’d Dyo have to play the hero, going for some ridiculous full-front assault instead of waiting for back-up. The civilians could wait, they-- “Fuck.  _ Fuck _ . I need to call a friend. Dyo warned me to get them out of Insadong by noon. Noon, then? You think he saw plans for a noon attack?” He fumbles for his personal cell while attempting to keep full vigilance on the road.

“Hold your horses, cowboy. You can’t go telling civilians about this; they might start a widespread panic.”

“I don’t  _ care _ about panic - I care about my friends. And maybe everyone  _ should _ be panicked!” Kai argues.

“Kris is working with the government as we speak about a public safety precaution should this plan reach execution stage. Let him and the President worry about that end: You’re assigned to a different mission. We all have to stay in our lanes, okay?” Baek reasons, an unusual amount of wisdom in his tone.

Kai takes a steadying breath. He’s almost reached DD headquarters. Just two minutes left. “Château des Chats. If this doesn’t go well, just  _ please _ . Call Château des Chats and give them a heads up. From me. I assume you already know my real name.”

“...maybe.”

“Maybe you’ll call them or maybe you know my name?”

Baekhyun sighs. “I’ll call them, J. Just focus: There’s an abandoned lot two blocks away from the building. Park there.”

Kai eases into the parking lot and aims for the corner of it which mostly in shadows due to the trees blocking out the street lights.

There’s another car there. Identical to his own. Dyo’s.

His heart rate surges as everything becomes real. Dyo is real. And he’s just steps away. Kai exits the car with purpose.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun is delivering the navigation plan in his ear. “I’m guessing this corner office might be the control room, then, for the operation. No fucking around: Our goal is as direct a path a possible, taking care to avoid any personnel inside.”

“Bottom floors were all clear. There were no signs of life until the top floor,” Kai relays.

“We can only hope it’ll remain that way, but if they had several stationed in there, there is likely at least one patrolling, maybe one guarding Dyo if they decided to…” Baekhyun abruptly cuts off his line of thinking. “Look, just don’t try to be fucking Batman. Avoid encounters whenever possible, and get to that control room. Got it?”

“Roger.”

It’s still dark out, but there are some weak floodlights on the exterior of the building. Baekhyun leads him over from the parking lot, keeping him in the shadows and aligning his approach with the entrance on the north side. “It’s gonna be almost a straight shot once you’re inside, but line-up against the outer wall first, and I’ll give you more directions.” 

Kai creeps carefully toward the brick exterior, keeping an eye on the windows this side of the building to make sure there are no figures watching from above. Suddenly, there’s an obnoxiously loud crunching noise spilling into Kai’s ear, making him wince and almost yank the earpiece out. Startled, he flings himself the last few feet to the building and flattens himself against the outside wall.

“What the hell…” he grumbles, before he recognizes the chomping sounds. “Are you eating my  _ shrimp chips _ ??”

“Uh… I’m eating  _ some _ shrimp chips…”

“You food thief! You’re a fucking raccoon, Baek, I swear,” he hisses under his breath.

“It was in the break room. I figured it was fair game.”

“Liar - I stashed those in  _ my desk _ when I brought them to work.” 

“Oh… well… I did man your desk earlier tonight, easy mistake to make.” Baekhyun munches on another handful shamelessly.

“Put those away!” Kai whisper-shouts.

“Or what?” Baek taunts as he jams another batch in, speaking with his mouth full. “You’ve got bigger fish to fry. Ha. Get it? Fish, fry, shrimp chips?” He chortles at his own lame joke.

“I don’t even care about the damn chips, Baek. You can’t eat while navigating! What’s wrong with you??”

“You don’t eat while on mission?”

“No! Now stop it, I’m gonna go deaf over here! And we’re wasting time!”

The bag crinkles as Baekhyun stows it away. “No we’re not. I’ve been watching the inside this whole time, checking to see if your thermal radar is detecting anyone in range.”

Oh.

“And you needed to loosen up a bit. So win-win.”

Okay, maybe Baekhyun is smarter than he’s given him credit for. Kai swallows. “What’d you see? Inside?”

“Just a sec.” He can hear Baek clicking through the different levels of the floorplan. On his watch monitor, Kai sees nothing but the first floor rooms nearest to him, which are free of red dots. It frustrates him to not be able to see what his navigator sees.

“So good news: Even if they’re using the stolen cloak tech, this thermal reader ought to pick them up. And it seems to be working, because I can see someone on the second floor. They’ve been going room to room, methodically. Maybe wondering if Dyo wasn’t alone?”

_ Well he’s not alone now. _ “Is he moving toward or away from the northeast stairwell?” Kai keeps his back pressed against the outside wall, even though every fiber of his being is itching to run inside now.

“Away. He drifting closer to the center of this side of the building, in line with but above you. I have yet to see anyone on the other floors, but this complex is pretty big. I don’t know if there are people hanging out on the other side of the building.”

That’d be out of range, Kai understands. Some things they just won’t know until he starts to move.

“Okay, the enemy’s made it to the northwest side; now’s as good a time as any to go in. Keep a gun at the ready,” Baek suggests.

Kai gulps and unholsters the pistol under his right arm, flipping the safety off.  _ Just in case. Just in case. _

“Go in and to the left. Just the one stretch of hallway, due east from this entrance, to get to the stairwell that will lead all the way up to the top floor.”

A deep breath, and then Kai is shoving off the wall and into the building.

The hallway is bare, sterile white walls and floors, almost like a hospital wing. The doors he passes all look mundane with simple silver handles. The one at the end of this hallway, the door to the stairwell, has an electronic security pad, though.

The indicator light is on red. This might be a problem.

“Baek, I--” Just as Kai is about to fill his navigator in, the light switches inexplicably to green. Kai furrows his brow but doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth: He pushes against the door and appreciates how easily it clicks open.

Four flights of stairs. That’s all that separates him from Dyo now.

He dashes up the first flight, speeding past the second floor exit and continuing on toward the third floor. Baekhyun is suspiciously quiet.

He’s about to round on the third floor exit when he hears a door open from down below, and he freezes in place.

“Second floor was clear but the electronic door locks are glitching.” The gruff voice echoing in the stairwell is unfamiliar. There’s a beep of a walkie talkie as he depresses the button to speak into it again after a pause. “Just the first floor left to clear, but still no sign of any partner. Maybe the bastard is telling the truth about coming alone.”

Kai sucks in a deep breath. Dyo. 

There’s crackly static as the walkie talkie fades out, and the footsteps of this agent fade away as he descends to the bottom floor. A door creaks open, slams shut, and then the stairwell is full of eerie silence.

“Baek,” Kai hisses. A broken smatter of words buzzes in his ear.

“… the … scrambled … can’t see but … no one there?”

“What? Baek, you’re breaking up.” Kai’s legs carry him up the stairs while he keeps one finger on his earpiece, trying to press it further into his ear in hopes of hearing better.

“… jammer … communication …”

Fuck. They’re using an electronic scrambler in the building? To disrupt communications? But why unless… they must have really been convinced Dyo has a counterpart.

Kai checks his watch monitor. It’s flickering in and out. The flashes stop as he reaches the fifth floor landing: It’s now totally blank.

Blind. He’s going to go in blind.

He closes his eyes and recalls the floorplan from memory, from earlier this evening. When everything was fine. He was on the line with Dyo, talking about Asta from Black Clover… The layout of the floor comes back to him easily. Five small offices down the hallway toward the west. Dyo had dove into the third one when gunfire broke out. Big office he ran to next, where the gunfire presumably came from, is to the east. Stairwell exit was no more than 10 meters from that room. That’s the very stairwell he’s standing in right now.

A deep breath, and Kai opens the door, gun raised and pointed directly east. He’d like to believe he’s ready for anything.

He’s not.

The door to the large corner room is open, and Kai is staring in horror at the back of a man who’s just dropped a limp body onto the floor. Kai stumbles forward, heart hammering in his ears as he notices the person on the ground has hands bound behind his back, feet also tied together at the ankles. The attacker crouches down over the limp victim and oh God no: is he too late?

Kai barrels through the doorway shrieking, “Don’t move!”

The crouched figure’s head pops up just a smidge, alert to Kai’s command. His hand rests dangerously on the neck of the incapacitated person on the floor.

“Hands in the air!” Kai screams, gun trained directly on the perpetrator a few meters away. “G-get away from him! Take- take two steps to the left!” he barks in command, voice trembling as he still sees no movement from the injured guy on the floor. 

The crouched man raises his hands up, slowly rises to stand, and takes two small steps as instructed. “Two more! W-what’d you do to him?” Kai demands, both hands shaking to keep a grip on his gun.

He walks closer to get a better look at the person on the ground. The guy has short-cropped black hair and pale skin marred by a thin line of deep red blood trailing down the side of his face. There’s a red lump forming just in front of his temple. Kai bends down on one knee and uses his right hand to stroke along the man’s neck in search of a pulse. It’s there. He’s unconscious but breathing, chest steadily rising and falling. Dyo is still alive.

Just as Kai is realizing he’s spent too long looking him over, he feels his left wrist holding the gun get snapped backwards as two hands deftly swipe the weapon and immediately turn it around on him.  _ Oh shit. _

The gun cocks, showing this enemy means business and has a fortitude Kai didn’t while wielding the pistol. “One wrong move, and you get a bullet straight to the gut. Now how many of you are there?”

Kai stays frozen, bent on one knee, staring down at Dyo and trying keep it together. But all he can think of is that he fucked up. He was too late, and Dyo is bleeding, and there’s a good chance they’re both gonna die. Right here.

“Your pal will be fine, just a bad headache when he wakes up later.” The guy in charge snaps at him. “If you’d like to win the honor of the same migraine instead of a hollow point in your stomach, you’re gonna  _ answer  _ my _ questions.  _ Now tell me, how many of you are stationed here tonight?”

The command is cold as ice, but it doesn’t make sense. “Stationed?” Kai manages to squeak out, confused.

His captor sticks a hand out and knocks the cap off Kai’s head. Kai flinches, closing his eyes on reflex, before slowly re-opening them and raising his face in confusion. He meets a pair of large, round eyes that are initially narrowed at him but gradually relax, filling with surprise.

“Jongin.” The man lowers the gun to his side immediately. The stern anger from before has vanished from the guy’s voice, and it’s replaced by a warm, honeyed tone that’s familiar, oh so familiar… His eyes catch on the man’s plush lips that say his name yet again, followed by a gentle, “It’s me.”

Recognition slowly sinks in for Jongin, his body reacting with a relieved exhale before his mind can catch up. The rich chocolate voice he knows so well is soothing him, providing a sense of safety in place of the terror of the past few moments.

Before he can formulate a response, he’s being pulled in tightly, clutched to Dyo’s chest. “Tiger, what the hell are you doing here??”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my fic wife, indigomini, for being the lovely, resourceful beta that she is <3 Scream at me in the comments ^_^
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)
> 
> PS If you're looking for something to read while waiting for the next update, here are my Kaisoommer and EXO Mythology fest fics: [Signal Lost (& Found)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11910462) and [Sometimes, Legends Lie](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12138378)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big chapter (5.4k), lots of stuff packed in here. Thanks to indigomini for beta'ing as always <3 Enjoy, guys!

Jongin feels himself positively melting into the warm embrace, wrapping his own arms cautiously around Dyo’s waist. It’s a good thing he’s still on his knees: he’s not sure he could remain standing if he were upright.

All too soon, Dyo’s arms are releasing him from the impassioned hug. He’s hauled up to his feet and watches Dyo’s big, beautiful eyes look him over anxiously, from head to toe.

“Are you hurt? Did you encounter the guy who went scouting?” Dyo moves and speaks swiftly, decisively, while Jongin is still gaping and trying to catch up to the reality that he’s  _ here  _ and  _ this isn’t a dream _ . Dyo has already slipped the gun he took from him into the waistband of his pants and is taking Jongin’s hands in his own, turning them over and looking for injuries.

Jongin swallows, revelling in the touch, the gentle swipe of Dyo’s thumbs over his palms leaving behind a delightful tingle. “I’m fine. I slipped past him while he was heading down to the first floor. Are you…” his voice trails off as he takes in Dyo’s appearance for the first time. His full, dark hair is sideswept but mussed, inevitably from grappling with the guy who currently lays unconscious at their feet. Some unruly strands fall down across his forehead and along his thick eyebrows. One of which is sporting a dark red cut. Dyo’s skin is luminous, partly from a light sheen of sweat and partly due to a natural pale glow. His handsome cheekbones are marred by a bruise on one side, where he must have taken a mean punch.

He’s gorgeous. He’s perfect.

“They hit you,” he murmurs with a frown, thumb reaching out to gently caress around the darkening spot on his face.

“I’m fine,” Dyo dismisses. “First floor you said?”

Dyo’s eyes are boring straight up into his own. 173cm might have been a bit generous – Jongin marvels at the privileged view he has from above the agent. Dyo’s eyes are so breathtakingly full, like his lips, which are even more luscious in person than on beige 3D cam. Jongin is having trouble getting his mouth to cooperate, a stuttered “y-yeah” finally slipping out. 

The hands that land on him next only further fluster him.

Dyo runs his fingers along Jongin’s vest, slipping it off his shoulders and tossing it on a nearby table. Before he can get any words out, the hands are trailing down his back and Jongin’s face is flaming fire-engine red. Dyo’s unbuckling his toolbelt while muttering just inches from his chest.

“What the fuck was Kris thinking? Sending you out here… I’ll kick his ass, I swear.”

The toolbelt is laid down on the table next to his vest, and then Dyo is gently lifting Jongin’s earpiece out. Deft fingers caress against the shell of his ear when it finally clicks together: Dyo’s stripping him… of his equipment.

Jongin startles out of his trance to clarify. “Kris didn’t force me. I asked to. Insisted on it.”

That brings Dyo’s movements to a halt as his eyebrows knit together. “Why the hell would you do such a thing??”

Jongin feels his lips settle into an involuntary pout. “Cause there was no one else to send. I was worried about you.”

Dyo opens his mouth to chastise him but the words die on his tongue as his whole countenance softens. He hesitates before placing a palm lightly on the middle of Jongin’s chest and giving a gentle pat right over his heart. “You’re too sweet for your own good, tiger.”

Jongin feels drunk off all the light, intimate touches he’s receiving. The points of contact between Dyo’s hands and his body leave searing heat in their wake each time: his palms, shoulders, back, ear, chest… at this point, his whole body is on fire. He’s about to reach for Dyo’s wrist to pull him closer when he notices angry red marks in the skin.

“They tied you up.”

“Yeah… three of them overpowered me when I rushed the room, right before we got cut off. Most of my gear is trashed.” He nods his head toward the corner of the room where mashed fragments of his 3D cam and toolbelt accoutrements are strewn about. Dyo returns to moving with purpose while they talk, like he’s deploying some unspoken plan. “Who’s navving for you? Were you able to get directions all the way up to this floor?” The seasoned agent is strapping Jongin’s toolbelt around his waist and adjusting it with ease. He equips the vest and earpiece as well.

“Baekhyun, and no, we were connected when I was heading into the building, but I think they have a communication scrambler on?”

“Yeah, sorry. That’d be me. Needed to disrupt their lines so they couldn’t call in back-up. The range is shit, though, so I need to go neutralize the guy on the first floor before he figures out his cell might actually work there,” Dyo grimaces. “Actually…”

He strides over to the elaborate control panel that takes up the full expanse of the eastern wall of the room. For the first time, Jongin takes in the central control setup with massive computer monitors mounted there. The largest screen in the middle shows a detailed map of Insadong with half a dozen target marks strewn about the area. Beneath the monitors, a complex grid of buttons, switches, and keyboards are set up: it looks complicated enough to launch a shuttle into space or something. 

Dyo walks up to a small metal device set atop the switchboard; the square box is plugged into the panel, but clearly doesn’t usually reside there. Dyo flips a switch on it, turning off the scrambler. “Baekhyun, you there?” he asks, finger pressing Kai’s earpiece tightly into his ear.

Jongin can’t hear the other side of the conversation but he can imagine.

“We’re fine, but I can’t keep communications on or the enemy will be able to call in backup. Is the guy still on the first floor?”

Catching on, Jongin takes his watch monitor off and carefully straps it onto Dyo’s bare left wrist while Baek provides an update. Dyo flashes a half-smile as he mouths  _ ‘thanks’ _ at him, and Jongin’s insides turn to goo.

“Okay, southeast stairwell,” he says, talking to Baek. “In sixty seconds, I’ll reconnect for a moment to verify location once more.” Dyo flips the switch, turning the scrambler back on before addressing Jongin directly.

“When I leave the room, count to 30 and then throw the switch for a ten count. That should be enough to pinpoint the enemy. Be sure you turn it back on after that, okay tiger?”

Jongin nods and then watches Dyo haul their unconscious prisoner up onto a chair. Dyo loops the guy’s bound wrists up and over the back of the seat and does a quick pat down on the guy, satisfying himself that he’s free of weapons. 

Jongin’s anxiety spikes, chewing on his own bottom lip as he watches the agent’s every move in preparation to leave. He really doesn’t want to let Dyo out of his sight, but he knows he’s in no position to request accompanying him.

Dyo taps the other pistol in Jongin’s holster to remind him it’s there. “Stay here and guard the dickwad. Don’t touch anything on the control panel, and wait for me, sug-- got it? I’ll be back in just a few.” He turns to go.

There are a million things Jongin wants to say and do, and precisely zero seconds to think them through. On reflex, he reaches for Dyo’s hand just before its out of range, the gentle tug immediately getting the agent to stop and stare at their linked hands before looking up into Jongin’s eyes. There’s no time to convey anything other than a whispered “Be safe” and a heavy gaze Jongin hopes speaks volumes. The air is thick for a fleeting moment, and maybe it’s just Jongin, but he feels like no one breathes. Dyo gives his hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. Walking backward with a long look at him, he seems reluctant to leave, but a decisive nod of his head, Dyo finally turns, dashing out the door and down the hall.

Jongin exhales and starts counting. He positions himself with his back against the wall so he’s facing the door and can see the bound enemy on his right and the full control panel on his left with the small device he’s been instructed to manipulate. His eyes flick back and forth between watching the enemy and lines of code streaming continuously on the smaller wall monitor next to him as he counts steadily to himself. When he reaches 30, he flips the switch off. Praying Baek and Dyo have enough time to coordinate, he counts to 10 (a little slower) and then flicks the communication scrambler back on again.

With a gulp, he reminds himself Dyo can do it. He can handle one guy downstairs. He got out of this jam up here with... only a few scratches. 

Anger wells up inside Jongin, blooming darker than the bruise on Dyo’s cheek. They  _ hit  _ him. These bastards hit Dyo and cut into his wrists and-- oh fuck. The trashed gear in the corner was all the stuff he was actually  _ wearing _ . Did they bust it after removing it or was it damaged while they were roughing Dyo up, probably spewing curses at him all the while?

Jongin is seething, clenching and unclenching fists as the scenario plays out in his mind, when a rough cough interrupts his thoughts. The enemy, unconscious no more, is groaning from his chair. His eyes squint open and shut, ultimately landing on Jongin during his attempts to reorient himself. Jongin’s heart rate continues to climb, already worked up from righteous anger, when the guy makes the mistake of opening his mouth:

“Who are you and where’d the twink go?”

Jongin has only thrown one real punch before. It was middle school and some older bully had destroyed Taemin’s end-of-term project, calling him a nerd like it was something to be ashamed of, and Jongin had snapped. That punch hadn’t done anything meaningful, barely grazing the bully’s shoulder as he dodged it. A teacher nearby stepped in to prevent any additional fallout.

Luckily, 25 year old Jongin is a lot stronger and more formidable than 13 year old Jongin.

He takes one quick step toward his target and winds up to deck the guy as hard as he fucking can. Jongin’s knuckles connect with the asshole’s jaw in a vicious thwack, rocking the guy so hard he tips sideways onto the floor, bringing the chair down with him with a loud clatter.

“Watch your mouth, you piece of shit!” Jongin spits at him.

He’s shaking the sting out of his hand as Dyo bursts into the room a second later, gun drawn and eyes wide. “Kai! You okay?” he checks, surveying the scene rapidly.

The name choice throws him for a loop before it dawns on him. Right. Enemy doesn’t need to be knowing his real name. Kai nods, chest still heaving with angry breaths. He points to direct Dyo’s attention to the floor. “Our ‘friend’ woke up.”

Dyo rounds on the guy, eyes narrowed menacingly, and crouches near his face. “Good morning, sunshine. Things have… changed since last we spoke.” Dyo’s words are cold as ice as he drags the edge of his gun along the floor, letting it make a harrowing scraping sound as he brings in into view, aimed directly at the enemy’s chest. “I’ll warn you that I’m a whole lot more willing to take a life now than I was earlier, fuckface. So  _ don’t _ test my patience. You’re gonna talk, and not give my partner here any lip. We clear?”

The DD guard is grumpy but quiet as Dyo hoists him and his chair back upright. He lets out a pained “Ah!” when Dyo yanks his head up by the hair so he’s looking properly at Kai instead of down at the floor.

“Show some fucking manners,” Dyo hisses at him. Standing behind the guy’s chair so he’s out of view, he mouths at Kai:  _ Ask him why. _ He gestures toward the ominous displays behind Kai, with the map and its targets, and Kai gives an imperceptible nod of understanding.

He’s got a chance to be useful, to actually help. He summons his most intimidating glare and barks at their captive: “Why Insadong?”

The guard eyes Kai’s fists warily. Good. Fear the beatdown, fucker.

“It’s a high traffic area. Lots of tourists,” he reluctantly explains.

Satisfied the guy is going to comply, Dyo heads to the control panel and starts messing with his device and the panel’s keyboard.

“So you actually  _ want _ to hurt as many people as possible,” Kai says, sickened. “What the hell is wrong with you guys?”

“No, it’s not--” the captive sighs. “It’s not gonna  _ kill _ anyone.”

“Last I checked, widespread gassing isn’t something we typically do just to liven up a Saturday,” Dyo sneers without stopping whatever he’s doing over on the control panel.

“Exactly what is it supposed to do?” Kai continues interrogating.

The guard purses his lips and looks away. “I’m not supposed to be talking, and I’ve already reassured you that people aren’t supposed to die. Isn’t that enough?”

Before Kai can determine the best course of action, Dyo is stepping in between them and opening the pouch on his tool belt. “I’m not above tazing you right in the testicles until you answer every single one of his questions,” he threatens, aiming the stun gun right at the horrified guy’s crotch.

“Okay, okay!” he shrieks, true fear in his eyes. With his ankles tightly ziptied together, he looks like a flopping fish as he attempts to scootch his chair back away from Dyo.

Dyo turns to head back to the control panel, tossing the taser to Kai with a wink and a bemused smirk. Kai purses his lips to keep from cracking and narrows his eyes at the prisoner. “Explain.”

“It’s… a setup. We have people who’ll be in place to stop the attack once it starts,” the DD guard admits with a sigh.

“This is all so you guys can play hero?” Kai asks incredulously. “You’re that desperate for attention you’re going to risk lives out there? What if your field agents fail?”

“They said the concentration of the gas is low enough that an average adult should only experience mild side effects.”

“So kids, small animals: fuck them, right?” Kai glowers. Seriously, how dumb is this guy.

“The idea is that they’ll only go off for a minute or two before our people are eliminating them.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Dyo mutters, still typing into the control panel.

Kai concentrates on unraveling DD’s motives based on the limited info he has on the group. Wanting legitimacy, hoping to steal some of Prudence’s clients/contracts… “You could’ve staged this with less danger to the public, in quieter location, at any time, and still proven your worth to independent clients. You know, the ones who  _ don’t _ want to end up on KBS News at Noon. Why so public, why now?”

The guard grimaces, but eyeing the stun gun, reluctantly complies. “We knew -- well we  _ thought _ \-- your agents were all out of town, except for some telecom guy. This operation was supposed to frame Prudence as the perpetrator, over-reacting to some petty underground trading ring in Insadong, and getting the government to cancel their contracts with you and shut your firm down.”

Several things happen at once. Dyo turns around, eyes wide with surprise as he exclaims, “Mole.” Kai barely hears him as he’s depressed the taser’s trigger in his blind rage, hitting the hostage square in the chest and sending shocks through him.

“What the fuck?” the guard yells after spasming from the tase. “I told you the truth!”

The truth has Kai furious. They were trying to frame Dyo for this shit?? “Oops. My bad,” he grits out sarcastically.

“Kai, fill in Baek,” Dyo instructs, yanking his earpiece out and tossing it to him. He flips off the communication scrambler and doubles down on his work at the computer, new lines of code quickly filling one of the monitors to the right.

Jamming the earpiece in, Kai starts speaking, rapid fire. “Kai here. Baek, you there?”

“Here and caffeinated! What do you need?”

“We think we have a mole. The whole Insadong thing is a setup - and DD knows our people are out of town.”

Baekhun’s outburst is loud, even for him. “I  _ knew it! _ Goddamn Yeri, I’ll bet my frozen fucking socks on it. UGH, okay, I’m texting the news to Kris. Fuck, that means our other agents on the team mission with her could be in danger right now, too.”

Shit, Kai hadn’t considered that. Poor Baek is stuck trying to multitask it all by himself.

There’s a gentle hand on Kai’s arm. “Lemme talk to him,” Dyo requests. He’s left his station at the control panel and is by his side, reaching up to lightly tug the earpiece out. Kai tries to not shiver at the soft touch.

Dyo fits the device into his own ear before talking to their shared navigator. “Hey, I think we’re good here. Tell Kris the enemies in this building are contained. I have the system compiling code that should kill the timed gas release on Insadong. Go deal with the mole,” he suggests. There’s a beat of silence as Baek responds, and he glances sideways at Kai before replying, “I’ll take care of him.”

Baekhyun says something that has Dyo biting his lower lip and then rolling his eyes. Oh God, it doesn’t require much imagination to guess what the troublemaker is blabbering about. Kai has to look away, overcome with embarrassment at the suggestive things his fellow navigator is likely saying. “Bye, Baek,” Dyo says pointedly before walking back to the scrambler and flicking it back on. He pauses at the switchboard, pretending to study the map, but there’s an unmistakable awkwardness in the air.

God dammit, Baek.

Desperate to dispel the tension, Kai clears his throat quickly and interjects, “What… uh what should we do with this guy?” He jerks his thumb toward the hostage, who is still complaining about the electric currents he suffered.

Seemingly grateful for the distraction, Dyo feels around his pants pockets until he fishes out a set of keys. “Let’s give him his own private room down the hall so we don’t have to listen to his whining anymore,” he suggests. Pressing a gun to the guy’s back, Dyo pulls their hostage up off the chair. 

With Kai’s help, they half carry, half drag him a few doors away to an empty office. Dyo tosses the captive inside with some choice words, putting a nice piece of duct tape on his mouth and locking the room behind him.

They return to the control room in silence. Dyo checks the computer system which is still compiling his code. “Probably will take another 30 minutes or so to finish. So done by… 5am,” he announces, running fingers through his hair to sweep it back off his forehead. Jongin can’t help but stare, fixated on his every movement.

He’s still in disbelief that they’re here. Together.

He watches Dyo crouch down to pick through the discarded gear in the corner, checking to see if anything is worth salvaging, perhaps. Or maybe just nervously avoiding the conversation that awaits, now that there aren’t more pressing matters to distract them.

Feeling Jongin’s eyes on him, Dyo looks over his shoulder and asks, somewhat humored: “What are you staring at, tiger?”

“You.”

Dyo snorts with a half-smirk. “You’ve never been this interested before. Does my ass look particularly good in these pants or something?” He’s joking, pretending to peer at his own tush to lighten the mood, but--

Actually, yes. Damn. His ass looks  _ incredible,  _ full and round and--

Wait. “Before?” Jongin’s mind finally catches up. “I’ve seen you before?” Genuine confusion rings clear in his voice.

Dyo’s reaction is inscrutable: not disappointed, not amused, just... contemplative. He stares into Jongin’s eyes with this unreadable expression for several seconds before rising to stand. “You haven’t figured out how I know you, huh?”

“I… haven’t really had time to think about it,” Jongin admits. He’d been too singularly focused on getting here, making sure Dyo was safe. His mind starts flicking through the possibilities now.

“Mmm,” Dyo acknowledges with a hum. He gestures to the one chair in the room, offering it to Jongin. “This might… take a while. You should probably sit.”

“But where are you gonna sit?” Jongin frowns.

Dyo backs up against the wall and slides down it until he’s seated, feet flat on the floor and knees pulled up near his chest. “Here’s good enough for me.” He waves encouragingly for Jongin to take the chair.

Instead, Jongin walks over to the wall and slides down beside him, copying his position and leaving just a few inches of space between them. “If it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for me,” he says gently.

Dyo drops his head down with a light laugh. “Ever the sweetheart,” he mumbles mostly to himself.

This close up, the sincerity in Dyo’s words is too powerful. Over a phone line, these types of praises made Jongin blush and pine. In person, seeing how much Dyo seems to really  _ mean _ it, the praise makes Jongin’s heart beat so fast it warms him inside and out.

This isn’t cheesy flirting with an anonymous Kai persona. And now, he’s starting to wonder if it ever was. If was ever _just_ Kai to Dyo.  


“How do I know you?”

“To be fair, you don’t, not really. It’s more that  _ I _ know  _ you _ ,” Dyo explains.

Jongin chews on his bottom lip, thinking. “Did you follow me after work? I know now that the warehouse is close by…”

Dyo’s eyes flash almost comically wide as he quickly shakes his head. “No. God, no. I’m not some creepy stalker.”

Jongin shrugs. “I mean, you  _ are _ a spy.”

Dyo tsks and bumps his shoulder against Jongin’s, just enough to knock him off-balance, conjuring a small chuckle from each of them. When Jongin rights himself, he notices they both inched a bit closer to each other, their arms barely a hair’s breath apart now.

“Wanna play 20 questions to try to figure it out?” Dyo teases, tongue devilishly poking between his teeth as he flashes a coy smile at him.  _ Oohhhh Jongin’s fucked.  _ It’s just like the one 3D cam smile he got. This must be a subconscious habit of Dyo’s. A ridiculously alluring, hot-without-trying-to-be-hot habit. Fuck everything, this unfairness, wow.

He swallows hard before tearing his gaze away from Dyo’s all-too-attractive smile to meet his eyes instead. “I’m thinking 20 wouldn’t be enough.”

“Scared you’ll lose to me?” Dyo taunts in his dark chocolate voice. 

_ I’ve already lost this battle, nay the war.  _ Their faces seem so close together. Too close for Jongin, who’s starting to feel a magnetic pull forward despite the serious questions he actually  _ does _ want answers to.

Luckily, Dyo breaks eye contact and continues on. “What if I told you that you see me every day?” He reaches forward to snag from the floor the black cap he knocked off Jongin’s head earlier. He puts it on, folds his arms over his raised knees, and lays his head down on them, facing away from Jongin. “At the cat cafe.”

It’s not a perfect portrayal, but it’s close enough: Clarity hits Jongin all at once. “You’re the high schooler in the back corner booth??”

Dyo’s head snaps back toward him. “Gee, a size joke.  _ Thanks _ ,” he says sarcastically.

“No it’s not-- I mean you are a little--” Dyo arches an eyebrow at him, almost daring him to finish the sentence, and Jongin stutters out his explanation quickly. “You’ve always got grade 2 required reading with you!”

Dyo hums, understanding now. “That is true,” he acknowledges, head tipping back to rest against the wall. He stares at the ceiling, as if deliberating what to say next.

Meanwhile, Jongin racks his brain for any instance of directly interacting with him. It’s not that he  _ purposefully _ ignored the guy: They just never exchanged introductions or had any interactions beyond the boy -- Dyo -- raising his hand in a simple wave of hello. (Or occasionally raising it to vote in a petty poll of who was more correct, Jongin or Luhan, when the two friends bickered over something silly and roped the other patrons into settling the argument.)

“I...” Dyo startles him out of his thoughts, his deep voice sounding soft and uncharacteristically insecure. “I never finished high school.”

That was unexpected. Dyo’s clearly intelligent, more than capable to get a diploma. “Why not?” Jongin asks gently, merely curious.

“It’s a long story.”

“Longer than 20 minutes?” Jongin asks, pointing out the timer still slowly ticking down on Dyo’s watch.

He gives a wry smile. “...probably not.”

Jongin waits patiently, not wanting to push too hard. Dyo pulls the cap off and re-fluffs his hair, spending some time bending the brim of the hat back and forth in his hands, just fidgeting. He licks over his bottom lip and then speaks. 

“I’m homeless. Well, was homeless, off and on. For a long time.”

Jongin’s stomach drops. He puts a hand on Dyo’s shoulder, not sure what to say but wanting to offer some kind of comfort. Dyo eyes his hand appreciatively, seeming relieved at the acceptance, and barrels forward to swallow up the space where concerned questions might otherwise enter in.

“So yeah… I didn’t get the chance to finish school. And I know I probably should at some point now, but to actually do the paperwork and all… I figured I could just learn it on my own. I don’t really  _ need _ the piece of paper or whatever. But I’m, uh, not the most  _ studious _ person, I guess you’ve noticed.” He says it with a warm smile, inviting Jongin to poke fun of him so they can banter comfortably, as usual.

“I mean,  _ no one _ needs six months to read Brave New World. Were you busy writing the sequel in your mind the whole time?” He’s humoring Dyo, but while his words are playful, Jongin keeps his touches tender, stroking his forearm supportively until Dyo shifts to hesitantly slot their fingers together to hold hands.

Jongin tries and fails to hold back a smile. They’re  _ holding hands _ . It’s so simple but thrilling. He can feel his own heartbeat thundering in his ears as Dyo is tracing his thumb in light circles on the back of his hand.

Fully relaxed now, Dyo continues his story. “I learned pretty early on that the main issue is staying safe at night. I got by okay by essentially turning nocturnal. I’d use the money I’d scrape together to go to PC-bangs for most of the late evening. They’re usually open til 3 or 4am. I spent so much time in one, I started being able to help the night shift workers do software updates, fix hardware issues, stuff like that. I had a knack for it, so I just… kept working at it. That’s actually how Kris found me; I patched a trojan horse that Prudence had purposefully planted,” Dyo snickers. “He was kind enough to give me a shot, not bothered by my unconventional background.”

Jongin makes a mental note to send Kris a thank you package. He’ll ask Baek what kind of wine he likes or something. “It sounds like it was tough,” he offers lamely.

Dyo shrugs. “The worst part of the day was always during the dead hours of 4-6am when nothing was open. But then I could crash at the cat café right after that and sleep. They’re the only place-”

“-open before 7am. Yeah. I know, that’s how I found it, too,” Jongin shares a soft smile with him. “Wait. When did you know that I worked for Prudence, then?”

“I honestly had no idea before I started on as an agent. But,” Dyo makes a sheepish face, “I recognized your voice right away, on our very first mission.”

“What?” Jongin’s jaw drops as he takes in the news. “Then why didn’t you come talk to me in the cafe??”

“You seemed pretty adamant about… the rules. And I didn’t have much to offer. Still don’t,” Dyo says under his breath, looking away for a moment. “I was toying with the idea of one day getting up and getting a pastry from Luhan at the same time you get your coffee, just to have an excuse to talk… but then you came in with your day old shirt full of grass stains that one time and... I didn’t know if your crush was maybe--”

Jongin scoffs. “I’d gone stargazing and imagined you were there, on me and whispering in my ear,” he admits a little too freely, feeling his cheeks redden right after the words are out of his mouth. He was going for reassurance but overshot with brutal honesty, shitshitshit.

Dyo’s head tilts up at him, eyes peeking up from under his long bangs, and he grins slyly. “I mean… is that an invitation?”

Good Lord, he can’t breathe. Jongin’s already unequipped to deal with this kind of flirting over the line, but add in the full visual and the warmth of Dyo being  _ right here _ , and he’s fucking hopeless. His mouth flops open and close a few pathetic times before Dyo takes pity on him and keeps talking.

“The truth is, I’ve been lucky. I’ve managed to run into good people who’ve been willing to help me, for no good reason, when I’ve really needed it. Luhan was always really understanding, never gave me guff or kicked me out for using his back corner booth as my bed for months. Didn’t even make me explain myself, either.”

Jongin absorbs the information, fitting all the pieces together. “But you’ve been working for the agency for a month, and I still see you there every day. Is Kris not paying you enough to get your own place?”

“Nah, I did start leasing an apartment. But old habits die hard. Plus, it felt wrong to abandon Luhan as a loyal customer after his patient support all this time. You’ve seen how empty that place always is; he barely manages to keep it open even with his side income. And maybe…” Dyo taps his foot to the side, bumping into Jongin’s. “Maybe I had a thing for another patron and his charming way of talking to the kitties. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be jealous of a cat?”

Jongin flushes red from his ears down to his toes that rest against Dyo’s shoes. “I thought you said you were  _ sleeping  _ back there.”

“I was much of the time. But this melodic voice, talking about load bearing walls and ductwork, would invade my dreams and summon me out of my slumber. And I grew more and more fond of how he spent all this time teaching Mimi how to build homes.” Dyo turns his head to look at Jongin properly, eyes soft and full of affection.

“I guess I kinda fell in love with your voice.”

Jongin’s heart beats in triple time. No way. No  _ way _ . He can’t hold it in any longer. He leans forward, closing the gap between their mouths and pressing his lips against Dyo’s supple, heart-shaped ones. It’s light initially, full of that first-kiss hesitation. But a split second later, fingers are running along his jawline to pull him in and Jongin is curling a hand around the back of Dyo’s neck, tipping him back to slide a tongue between his parted lips. He’s rewarded with a delicious groan and Dyo reciprocating with a delicate brush of their tongues, pushing and pulling in rhythm. Jongin breaks the kiss a moment later to whisper against Dyo’s hot mouth:

“You jerk: You stole my line.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeeeee, lots of reveals in this ch. I'm nervous about your reactions OTL Please talk with me in the comments.
> 
> *Edit to add: Look at this amazing fanart that [piteopanda](https://www.instagram.com/piteopanda/) aka [thirsooty](http://www.twitter.com/thirsooty) drew for me in like an hour after she read the ch!?! It's so perfectly their kiss <3 <3 <3
> 
> I am totally swamped with work and other projects, so I likely won't have a chance to update this again until sometime in January, but hopefully there's plenty of satisfying goodness here in the meantime. (Edit to clarify: there are still 2-3 ch left. Still some more plot to cover.) If you get antsy, maybe go back and reread the story knowing who Dyo is this whole time, and see their missions and all the stuff Dyo was hearing in the cat cafe in a new light, hahaha. Also, keep in mind they're totally making out this whole time until I update again. /clears throat/ Yeah... good stuff. /iloveKaisoo/
> 
> <3 At1stsight
> 
> [Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii /waves/ It's been awhile but I'm back, as promised, before the end of January. You might consider rereading the last few paragraphs of the previous ch to catch the right mood/get your head back in the game here. There's no time skip ;) Thanks to my lovely Indi as always for beta'ing.

A minute of sweet kisses, and Jongin is love-drunk. He’s climbing onto Kyungsoo’s lap and grinding down before he realizes what his body is doing. Their passionate liplock alternates between soft presses and needy suckles as their mouths can’t seem to get enough of each other. The moans spilling from Dyo’s lips are just as sensual as Jongin has been dreaming they would be, but his imagination failed to factor in the simultaneously delightful rumble of said moans against his skin. Dyo’s sturdy hands are mapping the planes of his back eagerly, and damn does it feel good. When he kisses down Dyo’s neck to give some appreciation to those amazing vocal cords, he hears the operative rasp out:

“This really isn’t the time or place for this, tiger. We’re not gonna be able to finish what you’re starting. There’s less than five minutes before the code finishes executing.”

“I could probably come in five minutes,” Jongin confesses, rocking his hips down against Dyo’s and loving the sensations spreading through his body.

After an appreciative groan, he chuckles. “What happened to my Shy Kai, huh?”

“I didn’t dare hope you’d be this hot.”

“Mmmm, sweet talker,” Dyo murmurs against his lips.  _ Oh, the irony. _ Dyo seems to know it, too, smirking into the kiss with hands grabbing at Jongin’s ass. “But I need a lot more than five minutes to take you apart properly.” 

Oh man, Jongin may just lose it from the promises in that statement alone. His whimpers resound in the room as he tries to pull Dyo even closer, arms wrapped around his neck and tugging.

They enjoy a few more heated minutes of making out, and then Dyo attempts to slow them down, petting gently through Jongin’s hair and opting for slower, closed-mouth kisses. He pulls back just enough to make eye contact with Jongin before kissing him once more in a meaningful, unhurried press of lips on lips.

The watch beeps, signifying the computer system should be done compiling the code. Reluctantly, Dyo withdraws from Jongin’s mouth, the ghost of a soft smile upon his gorgeous face. They’re both a little breathless, and Jongin really doesn’t want to let this moment go. He’s admiring how kiss-swollen and red Dyo’s lips look before him and is tempted to dive back in, but instead he takes Dyo’s face in his hands and gently kisses the bruise on his cheek followed by the cut across his eyebrow, before gradually unstraddling Dyo’s lap so he can stand and check on the software.

Fucking chemical warfare threat. Worst cockblock ever.

Jongin notices as Dyo rises from the floor that he had his revolver out and resting on the ground next to him, as though ready for an enemy to burst through the door mid make-out. Damn, the idea that Dyo was still on high alert, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice, is somehow… really hot. Jongin wonders if he would even break the kiss to fire, or if he’d pull the trigger all while still sucking on his tongue.

Either way,  _ hot. _ Hot, hot, h--

“You still with me, sugar?” Dyo asks, head tilting down to the side to enter his line of vision where he’s staring mindlessly at the opposite wall of the room. Jongin has remained seated on the floor, dazed and not trusting his legs to stand without wobbling.

“Mmm, just… watching the door,” he lies, eyes snagging on Dyo adjusting the crotch of his pants as he walks over to the control panel. His mouth involuntarily waters.

How quickly can they save the world and get the hell out of here and back to his apartment?

“Okay, it’s working. The patch I put in place has severed communication from the mainframe to any remote access points. Since I don’t have the password to the program they wrote to trigger the gas releases, I think this is the best way to override the whole operation,” Dyo says, hands on his hips and studying the three different computer monitors on the wall. The targets are all flashing yellow now, with a “Connection Down” warning next to each one.

“You’re so amazing,” Jongin says in awe. Dyo doesn’t turn to look his way, opting to take a quick picture of the target locations with his phone, but Jongin can tell that his ears have turned pink. “So that’s it?”

“Hopefully. I should send this picture to Kris in case they want boots on the ground if this somehow fails.”

Jongin nods. “I should call into the police, let them know there were ‘mysterious sounds like those of gunshots’ coming from this building that they should check it out.”

“Oh, nice. Cleanup protocol?”

“Yeah, I’ll use one of our contacts there. I remember his direct extension. But I’ll need you to turn off the scrambler, right?” He gestures to the small device resting on the control panel.

“Yep, let me know when you’re ready.” Dyo walks over to it, one hand on the switch, the other on his phone to send the photo to Kris.

Jongin almost reaches for his cell phone when he notices a landline next to the panel. Probably better for the call to come from the building, not able to be traced back to him personally. He grabs the receiver and nods to Dyo, dialing the number rapidly as the switch is thrown.

“This is Officer Ravi.”

“Hi, it’s Kai from Prudence.” He rattles off some bs about passersby hearing odd sounds from the location’s coordinates.

“I can send an officer over right away?” Ravi checks for confirmation.

“Better to send two. And be extra thorough investigating the first and fifth floors.  _ Especially _ the fifth floor, northeast corner.”

“10-4. We’re on it.”

Jongin hangs up the phone, and Dyo throws the scrambler’s switch once more. He grimaces, patting the device before turning away. “Shame I have to leave it behind. It’s the first device I made at Prudence,” he explains.

“I can get Ravi to set it aside for you. Things go  _ missing in evidence _ all the time down at the station,” Jongin says with a smile.

“Ah, it’s not a big deal. I try not to be too sentimental about objects,” Dyo says with a hand wave. His face slips back into business mode with a slightly guarded expression as he digs through the junked equipment in the corner for his tool bag.

“I’ll get it back,” Jongin insists, making a mental note.

“We should get out of here before the cops show up.” Dyo nods toward the door as he slings a small black bag over his shoulder and holds his revolver at a low ready position. “I’ll lead, you follow?”

Jongin draws his weapon as well, and they maneuver out of the room, back to back to properly cover each other and eliminate blind spots.

They leave the building in an anticlimactic fashion, making it down the stairwell alert but uninterrupted. The first floor hallway is similarly clear, and they push through the back door silently. Jongin closes it carefully, ensuring it doesn’t clang shut behind them.

He breathes in the fresh air of the early morning and relaxes a tad. They out. They’re free. Holy shit, they actually did it.

It’s just past 5am, so the stars in the sky are fading in visibility. The sun isn’t rising yet, but the horizon is starting to light up. It’s beautiful, the soft glow of the new day that’s coming.

When he tears his eyes away from the sky, he sees Dyo looking up at him, large eyes studying him. “Thank you,” he says softly. “For coming, even though you shouldn’t have.”

Jongin feels his mouth twist into a grimace. “Don’t thank me. Of course I came. I--” He can’t find the right words.  _ Wanted to? Needed to? _ “I guess in the end it didn’t really matter since--”

“It mattered.” Dyo maintains eye contact as he reaches for Jongin’s hand and gives it a tight squeeze. “In every way, it mattered.”

He goes to pull away right afterward, but Jongin doesn’t let him. He tightens his larger, warmer hand around Dyo’s smaller one. 

Staring at their hands, the right corner of Dyo’s mouth tugs up into a smile, and Jongin  _ really _ wants to lean in and kiss him again. As if sensing it, Dyo licks his lips and says, “We’re out in the open. Come on,” he jerks his head toward the parking lot off in the distance and starts walking in the darker shadows, tugging Jongin to follow after him, hands still linked together.

Their identical, Prudence-issued cars are still parked next to one another, undisturbed beneath the cover of the trees in the back corner of the lot. They step between the two vehicles and pause, facing each other, fingers interlaced. Dyo thumbs along the underside of Jongin’s hand, tracing the palm lines there.

Jongin stares down at him, just inches away, and can feel the hot tension in the air, the crackle of electricity sparking in the small space between them. They’re both breathing much faster than required from the short walk to get here, the soft panting sounding so loud in the quiet of the morning. 

“We should probably--”

“Yeah… we should.”

Neither makes a move to actually get into a car.

Their eyes meet and they both lose their composure at the same time, surging forward to meet in a hungry kiss. There’s no gentle prelude this time, both licking into each other’s mouths immediately. It’s wet and passionate, and Jongin feels teeth gently nipping on his bottom lip, making him groan. Their hands settle naturally on each others’ waists and napes, pulling them closer until all Jongin can sense is  _ DyoDyoDyo. _

“God, you taste good, baby,” Dyo compliments mid-kiss.

Jongin is so heady with lust, he replies with no filter. “It’s probably the Reese’s you gave me.”

Spell broken. Dammit, he needs to work on his dirty talk.

Dyo doesn’t stop, but he’s chuckling through the kisses now, slowing them down to tender pecks. “I’ll have to keep feeding you sweet things, then,  _ sweet thing _ ,” he teases. Strong arms wrap around Jongin’s middle with a tight squeeze, and then Dyo’s letting go and moving to step back. “We need to take the cars back.”

But Jongin is having none of that. His body follows Dyo’s, keeping them glued together from chests all the way down to their lower halves, and effectively knocking them back against Dyo’s car a little forcefully. The small gasp of surprise at getting pinned against the passenger side door is all the opening Jongin needs to get his tongue back inside Dyo’s hot mouth, kissing him with renewed vigor. “Not yet.”

Dyo groans appreciatively and snakes an arm back around his waist, but plants his other hand on Jongin’s firm chest a moment later, pressing back lightly to disconnect their lips. “Stop tempting me, tiger. We can’t do this here,” he murmurs as he pecks along Jongin’s cheek, amused yet authoritative with his deep voice, and oh fuck, it just makes Jongin  _ want  _ even more.

“Why not?” Jongin nuzzles against Dyo’s temple and presses a kiss against his jaw, not ready to give up just yet. He finds himself settling in snugly with one leg between Dyo’s and vice versa. Strong thighs clamp around Jongin’s intruding leg and one thick thigh grazes his half-hardened cock, drawing a moan from him.

“Call me a romantic, but I’d rather not let this build up to something that only gets satisfied in the cramped back seat of a sedan like a cheap hookup.” Dyo’s lips are still on Jongin’s skin, moving down his neck and along his collarbone even as he talks of stopping.

Jongin’s never in his right mind when it comes to Dyo, but it seems all shame has flown off to Never-never land. He blames the sinful tongue dipping into the crevice along his clavicle. “I’m not worried. You’d never make me feel cheap,” he rasps out.

The words elicit a dark, husky moan from Dyo. There’s a delightfully possessive curl of fingertips into Jongin’s hips, starting to pull him even closer but then thinking better of it and stopping. Dyo steadies him in place and lets out a frustrated whine as he stops sucking on Jongin’s neck. He reluctantly pulls his mouth off of Jongin and leans his forehead onto the middle of Jongin’s chest, trying to compose himself with a few deep breaths. “Car sex is overrated,” he says unconvincingly.

It gets a light chuckle out of Jongin, who cards his fingers through Dyo’s hair as the agent continues to lean against his chest, staring resolutely at the ground to calm down. Jongin nuzzles into the crown of his head, and drapes his arms loosely around Dyo’s shoulders. Dyo shifts a little to pull him in closer, and they stand there, embracing, pressed against each other and the car. As long seconds tick by, the sexual atmosphere dissipates, and what’s left is a pure warmth.

Jongin could probably stay here all day, holding him and being held. Everything feels… perfect.

Deeming it safe now, Dyo finally breaks the silence, relaxing back to take a good look him. “Aside from the less-than-ideal location… isn’t this a little too fast for you?”

“No,” he lies. Okay, so maybe he’s never gone further than exchanging drunken blowjobs at a college party. Once. Four years ago. Dyo doesn’t know that, doesn’t  _ need _ to know that.

“Oh no?” Dyo raises an amused eyebrow, and damn it all, Jongin wants to kiss him,  _ hard,  _ and knock that smirk right off his face. But before he can try, the agent is tightening a hand around the back of his neck, tugging him down to whisper in his ear with that low, sultry voice of his:

“Then tell me: what’s my name, Jongin?”

It stuns him enough that he freezes in an open mouth gape for a moment. Dyo is giving him a mischievous smile, having anticipated the lack of response. Jongin swallows hard and then forces out a petulant, “Nightingale.”

The agent laughs, that deep unguarded laugh that up until now Jongin’s only had the pleasure of hearing over the airwaves. In person, it’s accompanied by an adorable eye smile and wide, heart-shaped grin. Jongin smiles in reflex at the joy radiating off of Dyo.

A kiss grazes his cheek as the agent slides out to walk around the car to the driver’s side. “Take some time to think about it,” Dyo says, and something about it agitates Jongin’s stubbornness.

“You don’t seem like you need time to think. Why are you insisting that I  _ do _ ?” he asks, brow furrowed.

Dyo pauses, his driver-side door already open, and leans a hand along the top of the car, speaking to him over the roof. “Because I’ve adored you for the better part of a year. But you’ve only just met me, and I’m--” His eyes stray away nervously to the side for a split second as he sighs, before meeting Jongin’s eyes again. “It’s… a lot to take in. Let it settle first. I don’t want to be something you regret. Take a few days, longer if you need.” 

With that, he’s ducking into his car, and Jongin suddenly feels himself scrambling, knocking on the passenger side window.

“Wait! What’s your name?” he blurts out as the window rolls down, dying to know. 

A fond smile graces Dyo’s face, like he’s pleased about the question. “It’s Kyungsoo. Do Kyungsoo.”

Before Jongin can piece more words together, like  _ Don’t Go _ , the window rolls back up, and the car’s in motion.

Kyungsoo… Just like everything about the guy, his name  _ feels right _ to Jongin. He tumbles it around in his head several times, appreciating its melodic quality. When Jongin snaps back to reality, the car has already pulled out of sight. 

And he’s gone.

Suddenly, Jongin is experiencing flashbacks of Dyo’s green light disappearing from his screen. He feels a small bubble of panic start to rise up inside of him. Shit. They’re going back to the same warehouse - why didn’t they just leave together?  What if Dyo, no Kyungsoo… what if he’s purposefully separating here because he’s…

Disappearing. Dropping off the map.

No, no surely not. This is just the trauma of the past ten hours speaking. But Jongin’s nerves can’t help but vibrate with what if…  _ Oh God. _ Jongin wants to take no chances on this. He fumbles with the keys to unlock his car and then jitters as he tries to look up the coordinates to go back to the warehouse. Dammit, Kyungsoo has a head start to get there  _ and _ the advantage of knowing exactly where he’s going since that’s his daily place to report to work. Although normally Jongin would remember directions with ease, he wasn’t exactly in the best headspace on the way over here and Baek was guiding him, rather than Jongin looking at a map.  _ Fuck,  _ why is it taking so long for his phone to catch a signal??

When his GPS navigation system starts telling him to head west on the street he’s pulling onto, Jongin figures he’s already 3 to 4 minutes behind Kyungsoo. And what’s worse is there are occasional cars on the road now, gradually streaming in from the side streets, so he can’t exactly blow through red lights to gain time. Stupid dedicated early birds headed into work. The trip is going to take the whole twenty-five minutes this time.

That’s twenty-five minutes for Jongin to run through the conversations he’s had at work with Dyo. Twenty-five minutes to remember every kind word exchanged, every fond encouragement, every sweet affirmation. Twenty-five minutes for him to realize that Dyo knew  _ exactly _ who he was talking to, the whole time, from day one. And twenty-five minutes to realize that the fancy coffee machine and expensive imported chocolates were bought for him out of a bank account that had little to no reserve, given its owner’s perpetual homelessness.

Kyungsoo was wrong: Jongin doesn’t need a few days to make up his mind about him. Twenty-five minutes proves to be more than enough.

N rolls open the garage door for him at the warehouse. “Welcome back! Happy to see everyone made it out in one piece,” he says genially, clapping Kai on the back.

The words already give him a small flood of relief. So he did return, didn’t drive off into the sunrise. “Where’s Dyo?”

“Ah, he always hits the locker room to shower after coming in. But I think he’s already finished up and cleared out. Seemed to be in a bit of a hurry today, which isn’t odd given that he’s usually not pulling in this late in the morning,” N chatters while taking Kai’s holster and remaining pistol and restocking the equipment into locked armory cabinets.

Jongin checks his watch: It’s almost 6am already. Jongin’s usually at the cat cafe by 6:30am, and Kyungsoo’s always there before him. Makes sense that if he was trying to hit his typical arrival time, he’d have to really haul ass.

“Your personal effects are all in locker 8,” N tells him, pointing over to the metal lockers along a wall. “Feel free to wash up. Fresh towels, shampoo, everything you need is in the stalls.”

Jongin decides to do just that. He fetches his clothes and wallet from the locker, and steps into a curtained off stall to strip off the black uniform and stand under the hot stream of water. As he lathers up, he realizes he needs to go back to the Prudence office to get his bag: his house keys and glasses are in there. He turns off the tap and hurriedly gets changed.

Part of Jongin had hoped to see Baekhyun on the fourth floor to find out what transpired with the other team, but the navigation floor is dark and empty when he arrives. Just as well, because it’s now 6:30am and he’s going to be late as it is to Luhan’s.

Glasses on, blazer tucked away, he rides the subway train to his regular stop.

_ He’ll be there, he’s got to be there. _

Jongin trots to Chateau des Chats, heart in his throat as he pushes through the door, bell jingling to announce his presence.

“Jongin! You’re late,” Luhan calls.

Jongin doesn’t return the greeting. His eyes are zeroed in on the back corner of the cafe.

On the boy in the gray hoodie. With a book across his face.

His heart is thumping ever-so-fast as he notices… Mimi leap down from the boy’s lap to come greet Jongin. She’s always appeared from the back of the cafe, but Jongin had never noticed precisely  _ where _ she was coming from, always too busy exchanging pleasantries with Luhan at first. 

He’s been stealing Kyungsoo’s cat, every. damn. morning.

Jongin feels the old woman’s eyes on him from her perch on the sofa, and the high school girl’s confused gaze that follows, as he traverses the cafe, passing Luhan without even sparing a glance.

Quietly, he slips into the chair at the back corner table and lifts the book off of the sleeping boy’s face.

The  _ not _ sleeping boy. Who looks up at him with wide, round eyes, full of surprise. Jongin smiles, breathing a sigh of relief as he wraps his larger hand around the smaller one on the table. 

“Good morning. Kyungsoo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soft for them ;_; Hope you enjoyed this ch - it was an important warm-up for me to get back into writing this story and to get to where we're going next time. Please talk with me in the comments if you missed this fic/enjoyed seeing these boys again <3
> 
> This fic went on this mini-hiatus so I could write my ForKadiOnly entry, [Lawyer Up (My Ass)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13310958). Excuse the title, it was a gift fic for my lovely wife Indi :D If you read it, hope you enjoyed it and felt it was worth the slight spyau delay. <3
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	14. Chapter 14

“Well, well, well!” Luhan practically hops over the counter in his rush to charge their table. “ _What_ do we have here?”

Jongin disregards Luhan entirely, too enamored with the beautiful shock and light flush on Kyungsoo’s face staring up at him, barely raised from its previous resting position on the table. There’s a small piece of medical tape over the little cut in his eyebrow, and his hair is fluffy from his earlier shower. Kyungsoo _does_ look younger than his 26 years when out of his agent getup, but the handsome definition of his jaw and alertness in his eyes convey his underlying maturity. This is no highschooler.

This is his Dyo. His nightingale. His Kyu--

“Yah, it’s rude to ignore your hyung,” Luhan whines, playfully roughing up the back of Jongin’s hair. “You know Kyungsoo?”

Jongin pouts, turning to the cafe owner. Luhan got to know Kyungsoo before he did, and speaks his real name with such nonchalance, when it’s something that’s absolutely precious to Jongin. Doesn’t seem fair.

When Jongin fails to answer, Kyungsoo supplies a simple, “Yeah, we’ve met.”

“This--” Luhan drops his voice to a whisper as he nudges their hands that are currently held together, “looks like more than just two people who have ‘met.’” He raises a blond eyebrow and looks back and forth between the two men.

Kyungsoo gives Jongin a worried look and goes to lightly pull his hand back, but Jongin squeezes it and holds it even tighter. “Maybe it is. But can you save the inquisition for another day and get my latte, please?” Jongin stares hard at his friend, flashing his best _Don’t ruin this for me_ face at him.

Luhan purses his lips to (poorly) conceal a smile. “Okay, okay, coming right up.” He makes a show of walking away and busying himself with fixing the drink.

“You know he’s gonna be watching us the whole time anyway, right?” Kyungsoo sports a bemused smile.

“Undoubtedly. But I don’t care,” Jongin replies with confidence. He looks over at the ahjumma on the couch, who is openly staring as well. She quickly turns back to her newspaper, rapidly flipping to a new page, when she realizes she’s caught.

Kyungsoo bites the corner of his lip and seems to relax a little, finally sitting up fully, body opening up from its slouched sleeping position on the table. “I told you to take some time… to think about things first,” he mumbles with no trace of real admonishment in his deep voice.

“I did. I’m done thinking. And I’m here, at _this_ table, because it’s where I want to be.”

“Yes, but what about your precious Rules? Are you abandoning all of your principles so quickly?” he teases. Kyungsoo is leaning forward now with a challenging gaze that flickers down to his lips and then back up, as though reminding Jongin of his uncharacteristic crossing of all kinds of lines earlier today.

Cutie Kyungsoo is most _definitely_ still dangerous Dyo. Jongin feels his face heating up and a stirring in his pants when--

Oomph. “Meow,” Mimi calls to him, having leapt up into his lap (thankfully, landing neatly on his right thigh). She paws at his chest, as if to say, _‘Have you forgotten about me?’_

“Hi, Mimi girl. How’s my princess today?” he can’t help but coo, obliging her with scratches under her chin.

Kyungsoo tuts. “Spoiled puss. I wonder if she knows she’s the luckiest cat in the world.”

Luhan drops off a latte and pointedly stays tight-lipped, sauntering away after a lingering glance.

Jongin takes a long pull from his coffee while stroking down the cat’s back. With a sheepish smile, he says, “I didn’t realize she was yours.”

“She’s obviously not,” Kyungsoo replies, reaching across to give Mimi a gentle pet between her eyes. She purrs and licks his finger several times affectionately, but remains seated on Jongin’s lap.

“I feel bad.”

“Don’t. She just has great taste and picked the best companion.” Kyungsoo winks at him.

It’s a sweet compliment, but the slight edge of self-deprecation reminds Jongin of the previous dig Dyo made at himself back in the building. Jongin frowns. “There’s no way I could’ve stayed away if I’d known you were back here the whole time. You should’ve come talked to me. Like… even before work happened.”

Kyungsoo gives a half-shrug. “And say what, exactly? ‘Hi, I’m Kyungsoo. I’m homeless, have no money, and absolutely nothing to offer right now except some serious trust issues. But your voice is incredible and you sure are gorgeous. Wanna fuck?’”

 _Might’ve worked_ , Jongin thinks, considering about how desperate he was feeling for months on end.

As soft as they’ve been keeping their voices, Kyungsoo’s final words did _not_ go unnoticed. The high school girl at the nearby table has been texting on her phone since Jongin sat down but her mouth is twisted in an outrageous grin and she’s typing faster than ever, thumbs flying across her screen as she undoubtedly gossips to her friends about the unlikely scene before her. The sofa ahjumma is peeking over the top edge of her newspaper with eyes blown wide in amusement, and Luhan just dropped a coffee pot he’s been polishing repeatedly for several minutes.

“Maybe we should talk somewhere else,” Kyungsoo murmurs.

Jongin is inclined to agree. “I know a place,” he says, standing up and slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder. Mimi protests, weaving through his legs.

Kyungsoo stands as well and packs his belongings into a worn, brown backpack. Jongin heads for the exit, not feeling brave enough at the moment to meet anyone’s eyes. He pushes through the clear door, hearing the chime ring out, but turns around when he notices Kyungsoo isn’t right behind him. Instead, he sees him over at the counter slipping Luhan a small, folded sheet of paper. He trots to the door right after, ignoring whatever question Luhan is calling out to him.

“Where to?” he asks, turning his big, beautiful eyes up to Jongin. The way the morning light reflects off Kyungsoo’s pupils makes the brown in them glimmer in a lovely amber color. Jongin marvels at them for a long moment, feeling his heart thrum wildly in his chest, before pointing decisively to the left.

“This way.”

They walk side-by-side, leisurely strolling among the morning rush of workers that are slithering onto the sidewalks around them.

“What was on the note you handed Luhan?” Jongin pries.

“‘For a good time, call:’ and my phone number.”

“Shut up,” Jongin bumps him with his shoulder, and Kyungsoo let’s him, wobbling a bit exaggeratedly to the left with the impact. He comes back with a goofy smile on his face, falling in step with Jongin again. Their arms brush lightly against each other as they walk.

“Sorry, it’s really fun to see you jealous. I’d only gotten to hear you whine before. The pout you wear is even cuter.” Kyungsoo says this while staring ahead, a pleased smile on his lips.

How does he know precisely what to say to scramble Jongin’s mind, every time? Staring at Kyungsoo’s side profile, the attractive slope of his nose and long, dark lashes, Jongin almost runs into a light pole. Luckily, Kyungsoo tugs him by the crook of the arm to prevent the collision. The firm grip relaxes a little once they’ve cleared the pole, but Kyungsoo keeps his hand on Jongin’s arm. The warmth of his touch sends butterflies aflutter in Jongin’s chest.

“I suggested he close up the cafe early and relocate the goods in his storage closet to somewhere safer,” Kyungsoo explains. “Better safe than sorry.”

Good point. Even if the gas release is thwarted, police are likely to be crawling the area today as a safety precaution and might go poking around in shops. “Wait. What’s in his storage closet? Do I want to know?”

Kyungsoo chuckles. “It’s truly petty crime, don’t worry. He helps smuggle bootlegged copies of Kdramas into China. He picked it up after the Hallyu ban started to supplement his income. Fell into it with some of the antique shop owners in the neighborhood.”

“The pottery ahjusshi on the corner??” Jongin asks in surprise.

“Yeah, the face of crime is changing. It’s 60 year olds trying to figure out a side hustle to help them actually reach retirement.” Kyungsoo scans the streets with a frown. “Can’t believe they were really going to target such an innocuous group.”

They continue to stroll in companionable silence until Jongin makes a turn and keys into a building. Kyungsoo takes one step inside the lobby and then stops.

“This is an apartment building.”

“Yeah,” Jongin says as casually as he can manage, pressing the elevator button.

“I thought we were going somewhere to talk.”

“We are.”

“Sweetheart,” Kyungsoo purrs, stepping into Jongin’s personal space. “When you invite someone up to your apartment to ‘talk,’ that generally suggests doing _other_ things with your mouths.”

The elevator car arrives, pinging open, and a blushing Jongin quickly steps inside, tugging Kyungsoo by the sleeve of his hoodie in behind him. He jams the button for the fourth floor while Kyungsoo prattles on.

“I’m going to get the wrong impression he--”

Jongin cuts him off with a firm kiss as soon as the doors close, pressing him back against the elevator wall. He lets out a deep groan as Kyungsoo seemed ready for his attack, an arm winding around his waist almost immediately and fist curling into Jongin’s shirt to keep him close. Jongin finds his mouth dropping open in invitation just seconds later and Kyungsoo wastes no time delving his tongue inside.

The ping of the elevator reaching the fourth floor goes almost unnoticed as the two are enjoying the way their lips meld together too much. The doors are about to close when Kyungsoo gently disconnects their mouths to whisper, “We’re here.”

The hall is quiet, as it always is when Jongin gets home each day. Quiet, but not lonely this time, as he can feel Kyungsoo right behind him as he unlocks his apartment, warm breath ghosting along the back of his neck.

Jongin rushes inside when the door gives, bending down to untie his shoes. He places them neatly in the foyer shoe rack, sets his keys in the dish on the counter, and pulls his blazer out of his bag, shaking out the wrinkles and going to hang it up in the bedroom closet. He gets all the way through his routine on autopilot before realizing Kyungsoo’s not beside him and scurries back to the entryway. He skids to a stop and sees Kyungsoo still standing outside his apartment, leaning on the door frame and watching him with an attractive half smile.

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re just… very structured. Even at home. I like it.”

Jongin’s starting to feel awkward, standing there under the full weight of Kyungsoo’s attention. “Why are you standing in the hallway? Are you a vampire or something? Do I have to formally invite you inside?”

Kyungsoo glances around the apartment, eyes flitting about and taking in the space, before he finally steps inside and toes off his faded black sneakers. He shrugs his backpack off and plops it atop of his shoes. “You have a nice place.”

“Thanks, it’s not much,” Jongin waves his hand at his neat but relatively spartan kitchen and living space. Dammit, he’s lost the moment. Should he… try to kiss him again? Pull him straight back into the bedroom? Drop trou? _How to proceed..._

Meanwhile, Kyungsoo seems oblivious to Jongin’s internal struggle as cautiously walks further into the living room, pausing to look at the photo frames on the bookshelves surrounding his tv. There’s several of him and his parents, mostly recent but a few from his childhood years. Oh shit, there’s one of him in his awkward middle school phase with Taemin. Jongin tries to turn the photo frame face down before Kyungsoo gets to that one, but he’s pretty sure it’s too late given light chuckle he hears.

“Don’t laugh at me. I bet you had an unflattering phase, too.”

“Did I?” Kyungsoo arches a brow.

God, this ridiculously attractive bastard - he never had worse than a bad haircut, did he? “Sorry, I forgot for a second that you’re perfect.” The words sounded sarcastic and playful in his head, but they come out awfully soft and sincere, betraying his heart.

Kyungsoo’s smile falters a bit. He tucks his hands inside the pockets of his gray hoodie, almost as if he’s afraid to touch anything in the room, and looks anywhere but at him. “Jongin… I. I’m not exactly a catch. Meanwhile, you’re perfectly put together every day, meticulous and punctual, have a great job, hang out with your tight-knit family all the time. It’s a big part of why I only watched from afar. It’s… intimidating.” He gives a small shrug and goes to lean against the wall divider between the kitchen and living room, closer toward the apartment door.

Intimidating. Him? It sounds so ridiculous that Dyo, the agent he’s lost sleep over, that lights his nerves on fire every time they talk, would find anything about him intimidating. Jongin’s mouth flaps while his brain attempts to wrestle with this absurdity, and Kyungsoo loses the serious aura and cracks a smirk.

“Okay, maybe _you_ aren’t intimidating, shy Kai.”

Oh halp. The nicknames are returning. He’s not gonna be able to deal. “You’re crazy. I’m not… perfectly put together.”

“This bod of yours begs to differ.” Kyungsoo eyes him from head to toe, clearly enjoying the flush spreading across Jongin’s skin.

“Okay, can you stop being smooth for like one minute? Is it even possible?” he chides behind his blush. Kyungsoo uses his fingers to mime zipping his lips. As much as Jongin wants to throw himself into the crackling sexual tension the agent’s building back up, he can’t-- he _won’t_ \-- let go of the more important part of… whatever they are. “I don’t like this distinction you’re drawing between us, like I’ve got it all together or something. I don’t. I’ve mentioned before it’s feels like-- I don’t know. Life just kind of… happens around me. I feel so pointless most days? But,” he swallows before confessing, “not with you.” His voice dials down to a whisper. “With you, it feels like I matter.”

Kyungsoo is quiet, absorbing the words with an indecipherable expression. Okay, maybe this was too much: he almost looks like a skittish bird ready to fly out the door at any second. Unnerved at that thought, Jongin drops his gaze and backpedals out of his vulnerability a bit, going for a more light-hearted tone as he moves to sit down on the leather couch in the room.

“And don’t be jealous of my relationship with my parents: I’m with them all the time because I have nothing else to do, nowhere else to be. I’m pathetically boring, that’s all.” He rolls his eyes at himself and offers Kyungsoo a tiny smile.

“You’re not.” He pushes off the wall and walks over to sit on the couch next to him, tone matching his in lightness. “And I’d know: I’m practically a Jongin expert, having spent the better part of a year watching you.”

“Spying on me, you mean.”

Kyungsoo pinches Jongin’s outer thigh playfully in retaliation, and it draws small chuckles from both of them. The odd flow of sincerity and banter feels right, familiar, like how they flirt in between discussing serious topics while on a mission. Only now, the experience is enhanced by the warmth of their calves resting against each other, and Kyungsoo reaching out to link their pinky fingers together before starting again.

“You’re not pathetic. I understand feeling… stuck. But I wish you could see what I see.”

“And what exactly does my nightingale spy?” Jongin jokes.

But Kyungsoo’s done joking. Tenderly, he brushes the hair back off of Jongin’s face, letting his eyes roam all over. He’s looking at him with too much sincerity– Jongin can hardly breathe under the weight of his stare. “I see a good man. Someone who’s bright and kind, good to his family and friends. Someone who’s reserved with his words but never with his heart. And I...”

Jongin feels his breath quicken and heart rate skyrocket. Their eyes are locked on each other as Kyungsoo’s voice trails off, and that magnetic pull between them is there again. _Kiss me,_ Jongin thinks. _Kiss me right now, and I’d be yours forever._ He can feel all the tumultuous feelings welling up in his throat, the exhilaration and depth of affection that can only be called one thing.

“...I should go.”

What. No.

Kyungsoo looks away, nervously chewing on his bottom lip as he stands. Jongin takes his hand in his, confusion clear on his face. “What? Why?”

Their fingers wind together automatically, even as Kyungsoo seems to be heading away from the couch. Jongin stands and they gravitate towards each other, noses brushing, and the want is so _palpable_ , both their eyes flutter shut.

“L-let me use your restroom,” Kyungsoo half-states, half-asks, taking another step back.

It’s pretty evident he’s running away, and Jongin can’t understand why, but at least it’s still in the apartment, so he relents. “Okay, it’s off the… bedroom,” he says with a gulp, gesturing in the right direction.

Kyungsoo nods and disappears back into the bedroom, a quiet close of the bathroom door sounding a moment later.

Jongin’s nervous, but he knows what he wants. Has known for weeks. And it’s glaringly obvious he’s not alone, so he can’t make sense of why Kyungsoo’s hesitating. Pacing back and forth in his bedroom, waiting for Kyungsoo to return, he searches for the right words. He sits down on the edge of his bed and flops back, knees slightly falling open, as he stares at the ceiling and thinks.

The running water from the sink shuts off and the bathroom door flings open rather abruptly, causing Jongin to pop his head up as he props himself up on his elbows. Kyungsoo looks at him on the bed, eyes dark and hooded with an intensity that has Jongin almost vibrating from the heat.

“Stay,” is all Jongin can come up with, the word tumbling out softly.

Kyungsoo walks closer as Jongin sits up, reaching a hand out for him. He runs a hand through Jongin’s hair, tipping his head back as he steps into the space between his open knees. His voice is deeper than ever, causing Jongin to gasp as he leans down, millimeters from his mouth to ask:

“You sure, sweetheart?” He drags his soft lips across Jongin’s, so seductively, it draws a whimper and a nod out of him. “Okay.” There’s an outrageously sensual quality in how he purrs out the word, laced with a promise to not hesitate anymore. The way Kyungsoo’s lips capture his in a passionate kiss leaves no doubt that he’s finally all in, vowing to take care of Jongin’s every need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote and rewrote the second half of this chapter about 5 times. The story was originally supposed to go from the DD building to the bedroom, but my friends asked me to slow burn their asses down, so uh... here you are. Hope you enjoyed more of their in-person relationship dynamic. I love these characters a whole lot OTL ;____; and I'm just not ready to let go of them. Hope this ch isn't disappointing if you were expecting something else.
> 
> Talk with me in the comments, I always reply <3
> 
> P.S. My Kaifectionery fic got revealed! I wrote [Press Rewind](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13049427). Check it out if you haven't already :D
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [Curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This ch is very rated (NC-17). Skip to the very end if you're not comfortable reading smut. Big thanks to Indi for beta'ing <3

Jongin had thought Kyungsoo was a great kisser, but he was wrong. Kyungsoo’s a _phenomenal_ kisser. Holy hell, he’d been holding out on him before. It’s not just how well Kyungsoo’s lips push and pull against his; it’s in the way his thumb skates across his cheekbone and fingertips brush down the column of his neck, how Kyungsoo’s hand on his nape carefully angles him forward or back so his tongue can fully explore his mouth. Jongin feels positively consumed by him. The pleasure is almost dizzying.

Their tongues curl together with hungry insistence. It has Jongin moaning and pulling mindlessly at Kyungsoo’s chest and waist. Getting the picture, Kyungsoo unzips his hoodie and sheds it without ever letting his lips leave Jongin’s. A thin t-shirt is all he feels now as he paws at Kyungsoo’s chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through the material. Jongin’s finger inadvertently grazes over a nipple, and the shock of feeling the nub harden in response to his touch causes him to jolt his hands back.

Kyungsoo’s lips curl into a smirk, mid-kiss. “It’s okay, tiger. You can touch.” He takes one of Jongin’s hands and places it back on his pec. Instinctively, his fingers knead in to appreciate the toned muscle, and his thumb swipes over the nipple again. Kyungsoo’s low moan vibrates through Jongin’s mouth as he bites down gently on his lip. “Keep that up and that won’t be the only place you’re making me hard,” he murmurs, petting down Jongin’s back.

Fuck, he wants to check, to reach out and feel along the seam of Kyungsoo’s jeans, but his shy hands only make it to either side of the agent’s hips before locking on tightly. He stares at the bulge and then back up at Kyungsoo, who’s watching him carefully with half-lidded eyes. “I…” Jongin’s mind is a scrambled mess - he’s totally out of his depth here, not quite confident enough to move them forward.

Kyungsoo seems to read him perfectly. “What do you like, Jongin?” he coaxes. He rubs a thumb over Jongin’s spit slicked lips experimentally, and watches as his jaw drops open a bit on its own accord. Kyungsoo pushes his thumb between the parted lips, and Jongin whimpers, sucking on the digit hungrily as it presses against his tongue. “Do you like blow jobs? Giving them, getting them?”

God, so forward, but it’s oh-so-very-welcome forwardness. He nods, still sucking on Kyungsoo’s thumb. “Yes. Either. Both.”

Kyungsoo’s pupils are dilated so wide, the black almost blocks out any traces of soft brown from before. “And tell me,” his voice has a rough edge to it now as he slowly removes his thumb from Jongin’s mouth, “Is that what you want right now?”

He shakes his head no, because it’s not _all_ he wants right now. “I want… more. Everything. I want you.”

There’s a pleased sigh at Jongin’s words. “Want you too, baby.” Kyungsoo sweeps him back into a deep kiss, noses bumping into each other amid the fervor, while he carefully unbuttons Jongin’s dress shirt. It falls off his shoulders, leaving him in his undershirt. With his eyes closed, all Jongin can focus on for the next several minutes is the feel of their heated kisses and light breaths. Arousal burns deliciously along Jongin’s skin, until he’s whimpering with need for something more. Kyungsoo steps back and admires the flushed mess before him, sensing they’re both ready, both craving, to take the next step.

Kyungsoo crosses one hand over the other and grabs the bottom edge of his thin tee, slowly peeling it up and off. Jongin drinks in his beautiful upper body as it’s revealed inch by inch. There’s nothing dramatically muscular about Kyungsoo’s physique, but every tiny detail makes Jongin’s mouth water, from the light happy trail that first comes into view along his stomach, to his toned chest with dark nipples standing out gorgeously against his pale skin, the dense black hair of his armpits, and finally the light definition in his forearms as they flex to fling the t-shirt aside. _Holy mother of_ \-- Jongin’s mouth drops open as he continues on stripping, steadily unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans before sliding them slowly down his thighs and eventually stepping out of them.

The black boxer briefs provide little left to the imagination: There’s a clear outline of a large cock, tenting straight toward Jongin. When he tears his eyes away to look back at Kyungsoo’s face, he’s slowly advancing on him, fingers gliding up Jongin’s arm and gently tugging at the sleeve of his undershirt.

Eyes locked on each other’s, Jongin raises his arms up, and Kyungsoo cracks a half smile as he pulls off the shirt for him. “Mmmm,” he says, appreciatively caressing over the newly exposed skin, blunt nails tracing along the lines of Jongin’s abs. “Gorgeous.”

The touch ignites that deep need to be closer, so much closer to him. Jongin goes for a kiss, and Kyungsoo meets him halfway, pressing their bare chests together. The skin on skin contact has Jongin’s heart skipping a beat, and then he’s being tipped backward, lowered down on the bed, as Kyungsoo hovers on top of him. Between light kisses, they maneuver up the mattress together until Jongin’s head reaches the pillows.

“What’s your pleasure, tiger?” he croons in Jongin’s ear, hot air wafting over sensitive skin.

The words are spoken in Dyo’s dangerously sexy voice and have Jongin’s breath hitching. His attempt at a reply is completely overridden by a groan as he feels his earlobe get sucked inside a warm mouth for a hot second.

“You gonna tell me, sugar, or would you rather I guess, hmm?” Kyungsoo’s plush lips edge down his jaw and over Jongin’s willingly bared neck.

God, anything to keep him talking. “Guess,” he rasps out, moaning right afterward as Kyungsoo brushes his lips along his collarbone with feather-light pressure.

“Well, let’s see.” Kyungsoo lets his voice rumble against Jongin’s adam’s apple, speaking through the languid kisses that he places all over his throat. “If the dildo in the shower is a good indication, someone likes playing with his ass.”

Oh fuck. Jongin’s eyelids had fluttered closed, awash in this experience he’d dreamt so much about, Dyo purring naughty words at him while taking him apart. But they fly open as he realizes what Kyungsoo saw in the bathroom.

Feeling him tense, Kyungsoo is quick to soothe him, still placing wet kisses along his neck. “Do you know how hot that is, to see evidence of how you get off? Don’t be shy. Tell me: do you like playing with your toy in the shower?”

Maybe encouraging this dirty talk was a bad idea. Jongin might come before they even do anything. “Y-yeah, maybe I do,” he manages to moan out, as he feels Kyungsoo’s right hand glide down his naked side, leaving goosebumps in his wake, and firmly squeeze an ass cheek through his slacks.

“Mmm, are you wanting to know what I’d feel like inside you instead?”

Jongin practically sobs with want. “Yes,” he mewls out.

The hand squeezing his ass moves around to brush against his clothed balls, the lightweight fabric of his pants allowing him to feel the pad of Kyungsoo’s thumb glide over the sensitive organs. “Have you thought of me? While you’re dicking yourself in the shower? Wondered how I’d take you, fast or slow, gentle or rough?”

Jongin feels himself getting closer and closer to the edge, to a point of no return, and his aching dick and eager hole haven’t even been touched yet. “Kyungsoo,” he moans with warning, gripping his back tightly, trying to communicate everything he’s feeling, the desperation to hang on despite the familiar winding heat in his loins.

“Don’t hold back, baby,” Kyungsoo coos at him. “Just let yourself feel good.” The encouragement has Jongin heating up even faster, the flush of euphoria now painted clearly on his face as he watches Kyungsoo watching him, hungrily drinking in the pleasure flashing across Jongin’s face as the sight, sound, and aura of Dyo pushes every button of his arousal.

“Good boy,” he praises Jongin. “Damn you’re pretty like this.”

He’s only vaguely aware that he’s started lifting his hips, minutely thrusting upward and trying to shift Kyungsoo’s hand either to the north toward his hard cock or to the south to slip in between his cheeks and put pressure on his rim. The words of encouragement send hot sparks of unexpected ecstasy through him, making him moan louder and buck harder. “Pants… off…” he babbles between moans, blindly attempting to unzip.

Kyungsoo quickly obliges him, helping him out of his slacks and briefs in one go. His cockhead is glistening, leaking so much from the tip. Kyungsoo ghosts his hand up Jongin’s bare thigh, across the jut of his hip, and down the curve of Jongin’s ass cheek, barely touching and driving him absolutely wild. “You gonna cum for me just like this? Just in anticipation of what I’m going to do to you, sweetheart?” His sinful lips are pressing suggestive kisses along the inside of his hip, close to where Jongin’s cock is flexing with anticipation but not making contact with it.

Jongin is gasping for air as Kyungsoo starts massaging his balls again, letting a finger brush back behind them and near his entrance, all the while applying pressure to the base of his cock with the heel of his hand as Jongin ruts his hips again and again, faster now. “But I still want… I need…” He can’t string the words together, orgasm winding closer as he tries to tell Kyungsoo how much he wants to fuck.

“I know,” Kyungsoo reassures, looking up at his face and finally grinding his hardened cock against Jongin’s thigh. “Don’t worry.” With a wicked smile, he reminds him, “We’ve got all day.”

With that promise, Jongin can’t hold out any longer. He watches as Kyungsoo sticks his tongue out to lave the full length of his cock, and Jongin lets out a moan that reverberates throughout the bedroom. Kyungsoo makes a second pass from root to tip with the firm point of his tongue, eyes locked on Jongin’s face. The obscene visual and pressure of his wet tongue milks Jongin’s orgasm right out of him. He explodes, shooting a first wave of cum all up his chest and abs. Kyungsoo deftly wraps his mouth around the cockhead, catching the second wave and sucking it down. The intense sensation pulls a third and fourth spurt from Jongin, body jolting as he rides out the pleasure. When he’s lying back and panting, Kyungsoo lets his dick slip out of his mouth with a wet plop. Fingers come up to card through Jongin’s sweaty locks, and then Kyungsoo nuzzles his temple once affectionately.

“You okay?”

“Holy _shit,_ ” Jongin exclaims between gasps, chest still heaving. He’s tingling from head to toe, body abuzz with post-orgasmic bliss.

There’s a deep chuckle and a tender peck on his cheek before the warmth beside him disappears. It’s not gone for long, though. Kyungsoo quickly returns with a soft towel from the bathroom and wipes his chest off. In the process, some of the cum gets on his thumb, and he doesn’t hesitate to suck it off, puffy lips wrapped around his own thumb, groaning in appreciation. “Sweet, always so sweet, sugar. Not sure why I’m surprised.” Kyungsoo gives him a playful wink.

Wow, okay, Jongin is already feeling his dick try to stir back to life. He drops his eyes to Kyungsoo’s boxer briefs, noticing the wet patch on the cotton material, but Kyungsoo lays down beside Jongin, pressing his hips to the mattress and hiding the boner from view before anything can be done about it.

So Jongin does the next best thing he can think of and pulls him in for a hard kiss. As their tongues play, he becomes more aware of the soft sounds their mouths make while molding together. And it probably shouldn’t surprise him, but it does, how much Kyungsoo seems to enjoy the intimacy, to crave it just as much as he does.

It helps him feel bolder. He lets his hand smooth across Kyungsoo’s bare shoulder blades and down to the small of his back, dragging a fingertip along the waistband of the boxer briefs.

Kyungsoo’s kiss grows breathy in response to the touch. He pulls out of the kiss, leaning on an elbow to look down at Jongin and taking his other hand to skate up and down the bronze chest before him. He seems to surreptitiously check on the status of Jongin’s dick, which still needs some more recovery time though it’s starting to swell a tad. Shy, Jongin covers his privates with a hand and blushes.

Kyungsoo grins at him and quirks an eyebrow. “Hmmm, I have to know, darling: Did you ever touch yourself at work while we were on a mission?”

“No!” Jongin says indignantly, swatting at him with his free hand.

Kyungsoo giggles. “I’m not sure if I believe you,” he admits, giving him a dubious look.

“I didn’t!” Jongin pauses. “I... might have thought about it several times. And had to cross my legs to try and keep a boner at bay, but I never... did anything at my desk, ok?”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo agrees. His fingers are walking up and down Jongin’s arm and across the hand that is still covering his cock, stroking in both a soothing and sensual way. Lovely post-orgasm care, but also effective at keeping Jongin’s heartrate up, libido simmering but still very much alive.

“What about you?” he turns the question on Kyungsoo. “Were _you_ ever palming yourself during a mission?”

Kyungsoo tries his best to suppress a smile, which results in an adorable close-lipped smirk. “No, that’d be dangerous.” He pauses, pursing his lips before divulging, “I _may_ have gotten off in the car immediately afterward once.”

Jongin feels himself beam with pride. “I thought you said ‘no’ to car sex. And in a company car? For shame, agent Dyo.” He tsks his tongue playfully at him.

Kyungsoo takes that as an invitation to invade his mouth and tangle their tongues together. “What can I say? It’s all your fault,” he mumbles against his lips.

The kiss starts out soft, the two of them enjoying the feel of swollen lips and light licks along them. Gradually, though, it turns more passionate, with firmer sucks and nibbles taking over between hot breaths. Kyungsoo’s hand that’s been stroking up and down his arm goes all the way down to gently pull away Jongin’s hand that’s been cupping his balls and now awakened cock. Jongin takes a deep breath as Kyungsoo runs a finger along his length; it feels good, sensitive, but not tilting toward runaway euphoria like the sensory train he experienced ten minutes ago. He feels more… settled. In control, while able to enjoy the wash of pleasure.

Kyungsoo knew exactly what he was doing, indulging him in that first orgasm. Now, they can really take their time.

Jongin lets his hands roam over the plump swell of Kyungsoo’s ass, enjoying the way his cheeks feel as he presses his fingers into the pliant flesh. He lifts and tugs Kyungsoo from beside him to in between his legs, both of them gasping as Kyungsoo’s clothed dick rubs against his naked one. “Fuck me,” Jongin murmurs against his lips.

He’d half-expected more questions or delays, but there must be something about being so close to the goal, only one pair of underwear separating them as the head of Kyungsoo’s cock bumps against his perineum. A deep, delicious groan spills from Kyungsoo’s lips, followed by a husky request: “Lube. Condom.”

Jongin is already nodding at the first request and scrabbling toward the bedside table drawer when the second part slows him down.

“I… I don’t have condoms.” He’s never… had need to keep those around. Jongin might plan and prepare for most everything but there’d never been _cause_ to plan for that. Twenty-four hours earlier, Dyo had been confined to his imagination, only reachable over a company phone line or in his vivid dreams while he slumbered.

“S’okay, baby,” Kyungsoo croons at him, kissing his jawline. Oh- wait, are they gonna… do without or-- “I’ve got us covered.” He climbs off the bed and pads out of the room.

Jongin sits up, bottle of lube in his hand and mildly confused as he hears some rummaging in a bag in the other room, and then Kyungsoo is back, kneeling onto the bed with a small, square black box in hand. An unopened two-pack of condoms.

“I’m, uh, used to carrying around my whole life in that backpack,” he says with a casual shrug, avoiding direct eye contact.

Jongin feels a rush of a dozen emotions flood through him. He raises up on his knees to meet Kyungsoo, pulling the materials from their hands and dropping them aside on the mattress so he can properly pull the smaller man into his arms and kiss him deeply. Chest to heaving chest, Jongin kisses him fervently, trying to channel all of his feelings into the way their lips meld and hands roam against their bare backs.

Gradually, his hands slip inside the back of Kyungsoo’s underwear and pull them downward, the front catching on his swollen dick until a slight adjustment allows it to bob free. The sensation of the smooth cockhead grazing Jongin’s inner thigh is enough to get both of them moaning, breaking their kiss. Instinctively, Jongin reaches down to wrap his hand around Kyungsoo’s cock, enjoying how it makes him shudder.

His dick is thicker than Jongin’s own, maybe an inch longer, too. It’s so nice in his hand, flushed pink and _very_ responsive to Jongin’s experimental tugs, surging forward and already wet at the tip.

“Ah, babe… I’m happy you want to --ahh-- get acquainted with him, but if you keep that up --damn-- your ass is gonna have to be extra patient for that fuck.” Kyungsoo lets him do as he wishes, fingers gripping on Jongin’s deltoids while he’s played with down below.

He gives a few more light pulls before letting go, mouth watering at the precum he sees dripping out the slit. Heeding Kyungsoo’s warning though, he resists temptation to wrap his lips around the girthy cock and lies back on the mattress instead.

Kyungsoo’s eyes were closed, brows furrowed in sexy concentration, during Jongin’s impromptu handjob. They blink open at the loss of contact and rove over Jongin laid out on the bed for a few long seconds before he reaches for the lube.

After drizzling a generous amount on his fingertips, Kyungsoo positions himself between Jongin’s legs and leans forward on his left elbow, so he can watch Jongin’s face intently. With a light kiss to the corner of Jongin’s mouth, he asks in his sultry voice, “do you finger yourself often, tiger?”

Jongin gasps as he feels a slicked digit circle around his rim, just testing the waters. “M-more often than I used to, since I started navigating for you,” he admits, hyper-focused on how the finger is dragging across his entrance, petting and teasing the sensitive skin but not yet entering.

“Mmm,” Kyungsoo gives a pleased hum to the answer and the way Jongin’s body is reacting. With a lopsided smirk on his face, he murmurs in his most Dyo-voice, “Slipping inside now,” as he pushes a finger in.

Jongin’s jaw drops open as he realizes that of course Dyo was dirty talking at him with those words at the start of their missions. Before he can produce an appropriate reply, he’s distracted, too busy enjoying the feeling of Kyungsoo inside him, finally. It feels different from when he’s fingered himself, immensely more exhilarating even if there’s no stretch from the one digit languidly pumping in and out.

Kyungsoo recognizes how easy the slide is, too, and quickly adds a second finger on his next stroke in. “Oh, look at you taking my fingers so well,” he praises.

He’s not sure if it’s having two fingers up his ass or if it’s that rich chocolate voice, but Jongin feels his excitement rise sharply. He grinds his ass down against Kyungsoo’s fingers, moaning as he’s told, “Good, that’s good, sweetheart.”

Fuck, why is his heart rate climbing so quickly? It usually takes quite a while before fingering gets him worked up. Kyungsoo has not even crooked his fingers yet, only lightly scissoring inside him, while whispering sweet encouragements and kissing along the shell of his ear.

“It feels so good,” he babbles. “Why does it feel so good, Soo?”

Kyungsoo beams down at him, pressing a light kiss to his lips. “I think you have a praise kink, tiger.” He slides a third finger inside swallowing Jongin’s eager moans at the stretch with a deep, wet kiss. “I’m not surprised. Of course you like to be told how well you’re doing. Ever the good boy, aren’t you, Jongin?”

He’s pressing back against the fingers, rutting his hips down harder and harder as he realizes Kyungsoo is right. The combination of his sexy voice purring praise and the incredible stimulation up his ass is lighting every sensual nerve of Jongin’s on fire.

Once Kyungsoo starts searching for his prostate in earnest, fingers twisting and brushing against it, Jongin reaches wildly about the mattress with his right hand, searching for the condoms. He rips the box open and tears into a foil packet, pulling the slippery contraceptive out.

In between needy whines from the fabulous finger fucking he’s receiving, he tries to figure out which way the condom rolls, getting frustrated after turning it in his hands several times. He looks up with desperation on his face, and Kyungsoo takes pity on him, grinning as he flips it the proper way in Jongin’s hands.

With Kyungsoo sitting on his right thigh, fingers still stroking inside him, Jongin reaches out to roll the condom on for him. Kyungsoo slips out of his ass to use both hands to adjust the rubber a little and to lube up his now sheathed cock.

“You ready for this, sweetheart?” His hands roam up and down Jongin’s inner thighs, caressing them as they part wider, answering him wordlessly. Jongin nods, biting into his lower lip and not trusting himself to speak without squeaking.

Truth be told, it’s a little nerve-wracking, wandering into unfamiliar territory. But Kyungsoo takes all the fear out it, leaning down to bump their foreheads affectionately. Jongin lets out a shaky breath he didn’t realize he was holding in, small smile tugging at his lips.

The gesture makes him relax enough that he figures he should probably fess up. “I… I haven’t exactly… done this before,” he admits.

“I figured,” comes Kyungsoo’s easy reply, eyes searching his face for signs of hesitancy. “And we don’t have--”

“I know. But I want to,” he declares. “I do.” Jongin raises his head off the pillow, just enough to plant a soft kiss on Kyungsoo’s lips before laying back down.

Kyungsoo nuzzles their noses together at the same time Jongin feels the pressure of Kyungsoo’s cockhead up against his rim, and he sucks in another breath. “Tell me anytime if you want me to stop,” Kyungsoo murmurs, lightly kissing his bottom lip. His dick is right there, the tip pressing in just barely but not breaching, eyes locked on Jongin’s.

With a gulp, Jongin lets his hands glide down Kyungsoo’s back, over the small of his waist, and lightly tug at his ass, encouraging his hips forward. “In all the ways I’ve ever imagined this, I’ve never wanted you to stop,” he whispers, kissing him more resolutely.

An affected moan ripples through Kyungsoo, vibrating down Jongin’s tongue as he sucks it gently into his mouth. Finally, _finally_ _,_ he starts to guide himself into Jongin slowly, stopping before he completely bottoms out because of the light gasp that slips through their kiss. “You okay?”

Jongin nods vigorously, willing his body to relax and let him all the way in. “Keep going,” he rasps, mind getting hazy from the delicious fullness he’s already feeling with Kyungsoo only halfway inside. As requested, he presses in further, inch by inch until he’s fully seated inside.

He’s a bit bigger than the dildo, but the light burn honestly doesn’t bother Jongin. Everything just feels… intense. His heartbeat is pounding in his ears, the dull ache in his ass is pulsing but also fading rapidly, and it’s getting replaced by the instinctive desire for movement. He’s momentarily distracted by the labored breathing above him as Kyungsoo reacts to being fully sheathed and trying to hold still. “ _Fuck_ , Jongin.”

“Is it… is it okay?”

A single, breathy laugh slips out of Kyungsoo. “I’m supposed to ask _you_ that. You’ve had me hot and bothered all night, and now I’m dick deep in you - of course it’s fucking incredible.”

Jongin preens at the words and reaches up to trace a bead of sweat along Kyungsoo’s hairline. The ache has mostly burned off by now, he thinks. “You can move,” he manages to whisper, kissing the plush lips before him.

Kyungsoo’s tongue darts across his lips with a light smile. “Not sure I can. You’re wrapped around me so tightly. Damn, you feel amazing, baby.”

Jongin shudders at the direct compliment, body spasming around Kyungsoo’s cock and drawing more expletives from him as he slips out a little but fills him back up in no time. They both moan loudly at the sensation.

Jongin’s eyes widen. “Again,” he hears himself beg.

“Yeah?” Kyungsoo grips one of his hips as he more steadily slides back and slowly forth a second, third, fourth time. Oh, oh, oh, it’s so good. It suddenly registers with Jongin just how _heavy_ Kyungsoo’s cock feels inside him, the weight of it stretching and rubbing his walls in all the right ways. His body feels flushed warm all over, his hands twisting in the sheets as he enjoys the gentle rock of his body against the mattress.

He’s moaning constantly, in rhythm with each stroke he can feel gliding in and out of him. “You’re so _hard_ ,” he babbles nonsensically, delighting in how rigid Kyungsoo’s cock is. “God, how are you so hard?”

“Ah, Jongin, Jongin.” Words seem to be failing even Kyungsoo as he concentrates on how their bodies flow together in slick, synchronized motions. One of his hands has found its way up into Jongin’s locks, carding through his hair comfortingly, but Jongin doesn’t need a soft touch now. In fact, his body is starting to scream for more…

“Harder. Oh God, Soo, harder,” he pleads, lifting to meet each of Kyungsoo’s incredible thrusts, trying to drive him in even deeper.

“You might…” Kyungsoo’s train of thought is splintered by a deep groan spilling out of his mouth, one that’s so sexy it shakes Jongin’s sanity. “You might regret that tomorrow, sweetheart,” he manages to grunt out. Instead of driving harder, he adjusts his angle, swollen cockhead searching for Jongin’s prostrate. When it brushes the right spot, Jongin gasps, clutching at Kyungsoo’s shoulder with one hand, the other gripping harder into the sheets. Watching him, mesmerized, Kyungsoo repeats the motion, each sure stroke gradually pushing him closer and closer to coming undone.

The flood of ecstacy has Jongin chasing after it faster, harder. “More, more, more,” he begs, as Kyungsoo stubbornly refuses to ram him harder. Instead, he’s leaning down to kiss his chin and then swirl his tongue over Jongin’s nipple, mouth having trouble maintaining continuous contact with the steady thrusts of their coupling, lips and tongue detaching with a naughty, wet sound each time. It’s pushing Jongin to the absolute brink, driving him wild with need.

In a rush of passion, he swings a leg over, flipping them so Kyungsoo is on his back and now Jongin sits atop his dick, straddling him. The move catches his partner by surprise, beautiful doe eyes flashing wide as Jongin starts lifting and dropping his hips down with a bang.

“Oh, holy fuck,” Kyungsoo exclaims, body reacting immediately, feet planting on the mattress so he can drive his own hips up to meet Jongin’s ass on the way down. _Hard._ Oh yessss, yes finally. Jongin’s body is jolting from the fierceness of the fuck, and it’s everything he needed. He leans backward a tad and feels Kyungsoo’s hands come up to grip into his waist with a bruising intensity, helping him both balance and fuck himself down onto his cock with enthusiasm.

“Yes, yes,” Jongin lets his head loll back, holding tightly onto Kyungsoo’s flexed forearms to keep from falling. He can actually feel the thick cock inside him _pulsing_ now, and there’s something so intimate and yet obscene about the fact he can feel his partner’s heartbeat racing within him. His own dick is leaking steadily, and he can feel the tip of it slapping against Kyungsoo’s stomach now with each bounce, leaving a wet trail behind.

Kyungsoo is eyeing the pool of precum accumulating on his lower abdomen and panting out filthy praises. “Look how good you are, baby, riding my cock. Damn, you look so hot like this. So naughty, tiger. Fuck, I’m gonna come.”

Moments after that pronouncement, Kyungsoo throws his head back into the pillow and his hips buck roughly against Jongin’s ass as his pleasure boils over. That second orgasm builds steadily in Jongin, rolling through his body like a slow-burning wildfire that’s creeping outward from deep in his belly to his extremities. It’s so _different_ from the first one, gradually consuming him as his whines increase in volume and pitch, until he feels Kyungsoo’s hand wrap around his weeping cock and pull once, twice, and then the ecstasy rockets through him as he comes in long drags up Kyungsoo’s chest, the white of his release splashing against one of Kyungsoo’s sensitive dark nipples and making him shiver beneath him.

Body tingling but fully exhausted, Jongin slumps forward. Kyungsoo gently catches him and rolls him off to the side, slipping out in the process. They lay side by side, the room filled with their ragged breathing.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo says, catching his attention. Jongin turns his head to face him and feels a sweet kiss upon his lips. “You okay?”

He lets a lazy smile shine through, no filter. “Never better.” He kisses Kyungsoo again, letting it linger in a chaste, closed-mouth press.

Kyungsoo rummages about the bed, finding the towel and using it to clean off his chest and help him get the condom off with minimal mess. Rolling it up inside the dirtied portion of the towel, he uses the still clean part to gently wipe down Jongin’s body, brushing off the sheen of sweat and grazing lightly between his legs to catch some of the lube smeared around the area.

At the same time, Kyungsoo follows behind the towel, covering him with light kisses, from his collarbone, down his chest, over his hip, and--

“Ohhhhhhhhh what are you doing?” Jongin moans out, feeling those pillow soft lips kissing along the inside of his thighs and over toward his puckered entrance. Even as he asks, he’s already lifting his legs, drawing his knees up toward his chest to give him better access.

“You went too hard. You’re gonna be sore,” Kyungsoo murmurs against an ass cheek before lapping over his rim with a gentle swipe of his tongue.

“Ahh, ahh, Soo, I can’t come again,” he whines.

Cool air is blown over his entrance before Kyungsoo replies. “I know, I’m just trying to lessen the ache you’re gonna feel later.” His wet tongue comes back to lave at his hole again, and Jongin isn’t sure if this is actually true or utter bullshit, but there’s no way in hell he’s gonna turn down this kind of aftercare. One of Kyungsoo’s sure hands holds one of Jongin’s legs by the back of his knee to keep him open as he licks along his crack, the other hand nudging his balls out of the way so he can fully French kiss his asshole, the softness of his tongue feeling _amazing_ against his slightly tender, puffy hole.

Jongin mewls through the experience, not getting properly hard again but enjoying the soothing wash of pleasure over him. After a few more minutes of gentle care, Kyungsoo pulls back, apparently satisfied. He wipes him down one last time with the towel and then tosses it by the laundry bin in the corner.

Jongin makes a mental note to take care of it later. He’s in no condition to leave the bed right now. All of the exhaustion from the past 24 hours seem to sink into his bones at once.

Kyungsoo looks similarly drained, and flops down beside him, pulling the comforter up to cover them both. A sleepy smile spreads across Jongin’s face, realizing he’s staying and without any cajoling. He reaches for one of Kyungsoo’s hands, intertwining their fingers and bringing it up to his lips to kiss the back of it. Kyungsoo stills, saying nothing but letting the fingers from his free hand come up to caress over Jongin’s cheekbone and down his jawline.

They settle in, hands held and legs tangled loosely around each other. Bodies clearly spent, Jongin watches as their breathing evens out to a slow, synchronized rhythm. Kyungsoo seems to drift off immediately, unmoving in the comfy bed and Jongin’s tan arms. It’s probably 9, maybe even 10 am already. The morning sun is well into the sky, peeking through the small space between the bedroom curtains, the yellow streak of warmth laying across their joined hands atop the comforter. Staring at Kyungsoo’s soft features, his rounded cheeks, plump lips, and long dark lashes, Jongin can’t hold it in any longer.

“I love you,” he whispers, right before sleep steals him away.

\-----------------

He wakes to the soft sound of Yiruma’s piano playing on his phone. Ugh, he forgot to turn off his 3pm alarm. He drags himself toward the side of the bed, reaching for his pants that had been haphazardly discarded on the floor earlier this morning. At least his phone had been on silent from the mission: The alarm went through, but not the notifications or calls. Of which he has a lot. Huh.

Jongin checks the missed call log and sees an unknown number tried to reach him five times last hour. Brow furrowed, he goes to his text messages, from the same unknown number.

_Jongin, pick up your phone, it’s BH_

_For fucks sake, pick UP_

_This is important, asshole!_

_JONGIN, DON'T IGNORE ME THIS IS SERIOUS_

_Where is Dyo???_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /sweats/ This is the longest smut I have ever written so uh... /feels awkward/ Please leave a kind word if it was satisfactory. Even just a "Worth It" would be much appreciate /blushes and hides/
> 
> *I enjoyed reading theories about what Soo was doing in the bathroom last ch, ranging from a) thinking about escaping out the window, b) giving himself a pep talk, c) having a wank lmao, or d) ahem cleaning himself up... He really just needed a moment but then saw the dildo in Nini's shower and emerged, uh, less inhibited about getting it on with 'pure' Jongin XD
> 
> So yes, now Kaisoo have done the do but... Where _is_ Dyo now, and why do you think Baekhyun is so anxious to know? Hit me with your theories in the comments :))))) I always reply!
> 
> Still 2 chapters left bc I'm a lying liar who lies about chaptered fic lengths, oops.
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [Curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	16. Chapter 16

Jongin’s stomach drops for a moment, the panic from Baek’s text messages shaking him wide awake. He takes a small gulp before carefully rolling to check the other side of the bed.

A mess of dark hair pokes out from the top edge of the comforter. During sleep, Kyungsoo had ended up pulling the blankets and sheets up and over most of his face. Jongin smiles to himself as he observes him cocooned into a blankety bundle, only a hint of dark brows visible. There’s a strong urge to stroke through his messy bed head, but Jongin keeps his hands to himself: Kyungsoo deserves to rest.

He slides off the bed slowly, careful not to disturb Kyungsoo’s slumber. He bends over to grab the dirty clothes on the floor and winces a little. Okay, Kyungsoo’s prediction from last night was correct: He is a bit… tender. It’s not  _ painful _ , but there’s some soreness, like the kind from a moderate workout. No morning jog for him today, that’s for sure. After putting the dirty items on the floor into the laundry basket, he quietly grabs fresh casual clothes from his closet and uses the bathroom.

As he washes his hands, he looks in the bathroom mirror and sees his (now very obvious to him) flesh-colored dildo in the shower behind him. His cheeks heat up again, realizing this is probably how Kyungsoo discovered it yesterday, truly without having to snoop. Should he bother to hide it now?

_ “Do you know how hot that is, to see evidence of how you get off? Don’t be shy.” _ Kyungsoo’s words from this morning come back to him, and they’re so powerful that Jongin has to grip the sink to keep his balance as his face flushes crimson. Oh wow. Wow wow wow, he really had sex. Sex with Dy- with Kyungsoo. And it was, well, about a billion times better than he could’ve ever imagined? Everything still feels surreal, but in the best way possible. 

He smiles to himself while he gets dressed, noting just one small hickey near his collarbones where Kyungsoo had lavished extra special attention while driving him wild with murmured dirty talk. Damn, he had trouble shuttering away naughty thoughts to avoid constantly touching himself to Dyo’s voice before, but now it’s gonna be completely impossible. How’s he supposed to behave at wor--

Work. He should give Baekhyun a call and see if everything’s okay.

He carefully exits the bathroom and tiptoes out of his bedroom, closing the door softly behind him. While rummaging in his fridge for items to make a decent breakfast for once, since he has a very important guest to cook for, after all, he texts back to the unknown number:

_ I’m awake now. Gimme a call. _

Jongin sets his phone down on the counter to fiddle with some of the leftover containers in the fridge from his dinner with his parents a few days back, but the phone is buzzing the moment it hits the countertop. He blows out a big gust of air in amusement before reaching over and picking it back up.

“Hi, Baekhyun. Or should I call you by whatever your  _ real  _ name is, since we’re evidently talking on cell phones outside of the office now,” he deadpans, barely suppressing an eye roll and a smile. Rules, what rules, apparently.

“Nevermind that.” It’s curt. Very unlike Baek to wave off small talk.

Jongin feels a spike of concern. “What’s wrong - is it the team that’s out of town? Are they in danger?”

“What? Nah, I took care of that last night. Actually, Chendy were already unraveling it when I got ahold of them.”

“Chendy.” He snorts at the couple name. Okay, maybe it’s actually really cute. What kind of couple name would he have with...

Baekhyun’s continuation drowns out his thoughts. “They both sensed a trap while navving and-- But that’s not the point right now. They’re fine, the team’s safe: those details can wait.”

Jongin breathes a sigh of relief and returns to his quest to figure out breakfast. “Okay, good. I’m planning on taking the day off today, by the way. ‘Sick day’ and all.”

“Where are you right now?” Baek demands, more intense than usual.

“At home, like usual at this time.” Jongin holds the phone between his ear and shoulder as he tries again to multitask, pulling out the leftover containers.

“Oh good,” he sounds relieved. “And where is Dyo?”

Jongin stares at his bedroom door for a long second. “Why.”

“Holy fucking shit,  _ please  _ don’t tell me he’s there, too.”

It rubs Jongin all the wrong ways. He has to restrain himself from slamming his fridge door closed as he straightens up, bristling from the judgment and shock in Baek’s voice.

“It’s not really any of your business.”

“ _ FUCK, _ Jongin, this is  _ bad. _ I can’t believe--”

“Excuse you, Mr. Double-Standard. You are in no position to lecture me here. You just told me last night you’ve had an affair going on with our  _ boss _ for ages. And you seem to have no problem with ‘Chendy’ and their newfound relationship, so just lay off the--”

“It’s not like that!” Baekhyun’s outburst is sufficient to make him stop and listen. “Look, after everything you told me last night, about how personal you two were getting, the fancy coffee machine, imported chocolates for God’s sake… I realized how out of the loop I was. So I did some digging.”

“You’re an asshole.” Typical of Baek to be a nosy little shit.

“Shut up and listen to me! We don’t have much on this guy. His name is Do Kyungsoo, mother is Do Sunmi. She’s been missing since 2007. There’s no father on record.”

Jongin’s stomach churns. He doesn’t want to hear this. Not from Baekhyun, not like this. It’s not his place to learn Kyungsoo’s past without his explicit blessing, especially when Kyungsoo has already been vulnerable in telling him about his homelessness. The story leading up to that should be his and his alone to share. “Baekhyun, stop. Stop telling me and stop looking into him,” he says resolutely.

“I’m not here to gossip - I’m trying to look out for your naive ass.” He’s snippy, but the strain in his voice is sincere, not playful like the Baek that Jongin’s used to. He’s stressed… and it unnerves Jongin further. “That’s not all I looked up. I went through  _ your _ file, just in case, and…” There’s a reluctant sigh before he continues. “Remember the accident last year?”

His one failed mission. Like Jongin could ever forget it. He spent weeks trying to recover from the ordeal, almost quitting at Prudence because he barely trusted himself to navigate again. It’s the reason why he stumbled into Chateau de Chats in the first place, seeking comfort in the cats. He feels himself start to tremble involuntarily, as dread seeps in, that dark prickling feeling crawling along his skin whenever he remembers that awful night. Why is Baek bringing this up, why. It can’t-- “They said no one was there. They told me there were no casualties.” It’s the only solace he has ever been able to take. “I asked them a dozen times, Baekhyun.” He hears his voice pitching louder, growing frantic.

“That’s right,” Baek replies quickly in a calming voice. “And as far as I can tell, that’s all true. Everything I can find says the same thing: The house you and your operative firebombed that night was abandoned, and seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time, too. Just an occasional squatter is all anyone ever saw. But…” He pauses, hesitant to finish the sentence. “Jongin, the last owner of record was Do Sunmi.”

No. NO.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like these weird connections. Nothing makes sense. She’d already been missing for a decade, so why was the house never sold or leased to someone new? This is one of the only missions that Prudence ever botched, and you were the nav, and then a year later, Dyo shows up? And after just one month, y’all are-- I just don’t know what he’s trying to do, and-- Jongin, where  _ is  _ he right now??”

With tears in his eyes, Jongin drops the phone down to his side, arm hanging limply. Slowly, he crosses the apartment until he stands at his bedroom door.

“ _ Jongin?? _ ” 

He hangs up on Baekhyun.

With a shaking hand, he turns the door handle and it clicks open. Beneath the covers, Kyungsoo stirs.

Jongin holds his breath, watching with a pained heart as Kyungsoo rouses with a light jolt, a startle as he gets his bearings in an unfamiliar location. He sits up with a jerk, eyes flitting unfocused about the room before they land on Jongin.

And then he seems to relax with a smile. “G’morning, sweetheart.”

“Kyungsoo…” Jongin swallows, his voice cracking at the end. Kyungsoo’s still shirtless, bare chest displayed above the white comforter. He’s naked… in Jongin’s bed… where just hours before, they made love. A tear rolls down Jongin’s face.

Kyungsoo frowns. “What’s wrong?” He pivots in the bed, unease clear in the way his arm muscles tense as he shifts.

“I…” Jongin bites his lower lip, his grip on the door handle still shaky. “I have to tell you something.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says evenly. His expression grows guarded, the atmosphere in the room clearly all kinds of wrong. He’s braced for what’s coming next.

Jongin is, too. He can sense Baek screaming at him somewhere on the other side of Seoul, to get out, to run. But he ignores it, compelled by the deep ache in his heart to continue, remembering Dyo’s words from last night:  _ “I’m homeless. Well, was homeless, off and on. For a long time.” _

“Kyungsoo, a year ago… I destroyed a house that I think… might’ve once been yours.”

After a tense second, Kyungsoo blows out a big sigh, visibly relaxing. “Yeah, but it’s okay.”

“It’s what.” Jongin gapes, breathing turning ragged as fresh tears fill his eyes. God, it really was his house. But Kyungsoo should be… furious? Scared? This doesn’t make any sense. “What do you mean it’s-- oh my God. You already knew.”

Kyungsoo drops his eyes, picking at the seam of the comforter on his lap. “Yeah.”

“Since when??”

“...a few days after I began working for Prudence. I searched the central database for my old address, just out of curiosity, and the file came up...” Kyungsoo still won’t look at him properly. His tongue swipes over his lips before he finally raises his eyes, contrite. “I’m sorry.”

Jongin steps forward and drops onto the bed, shaking his head. “Why are you apologizing? I blew up your home! Were you living there at the time??” He grabs Kyungsoo’s hand, squeezing it tightly as another tear leaks out. “I… I’ve always worried someone got hurt because of me, but I never imagined it’d be someone that I knew, that I--”

“Shhh,” Kyungsoo raises a finger to his lips, gently cutting off his panicked words. “Jongin, I’m fine. I wasn’t there that night, no one was. And I’m sorry because I know I should’ve told you, yesterday, once we met. At the mission, or at the cafe, or before…” his eyes wander over the messy bed. “I shouldn’t have kept it from you. I was worried you’d be upset, and it’s really not anything worth getting upset over, but I was selfish and a coward, so I avoided bringing it up. Meanwhile, you find out and immediately come to--” Kyungsoo stops, sighing at himself and looking away. “I’m sorry.”

Jongin reaches out to cup Kyungsoo’s cheek, gently turning his head back to face him. “ _ I’m _ sorry,” he insists softly, thumbing over his cheekbone. He pulls Kyungsoo close to rest their foreheads together, both of them seeming to relax in the comforting intimacy as their breathing falls in sync. 

“You know,” Kyungsoo whispers, “you really shouldn’t have been so reckless, sharing the truth with me so readily, alone. That was dangerous. What if I really was a bad guy?” Even as he murmurs the suggestion, Kyungsoo’s fingertips stroke through the hair at the base of Jongin’s nape lovingly.

And it never mattered what Baekhyun thought or what others in their spy industry might say about self-protection: Jongin’s heart already knew, even before he opened the bedroom door. There’s nothing here to fear. With every word Dyo’s ever spoken, every touch Kyungsoo’s ever given him, there’s always been a pure sincerity.

“You’re not a bad guy: You’re my partner,” he reminds him, using Dyo’s own words. It elicits a light chuckle in response, followed by a soft, closed-mouth kiss.

“Ah, baby,” Kyungsoo coos at him. “You’re too trusting. Please promise me you’ll never try to be an operative.”

Jongin pouts at the mild condescension. “It’s not like I’d blindly trust anyone. I just… trust you.”

The words seem to have a strong effect on Kyungsoo, who gives him a meaningful look before pulling Jongin in for a deeper, passionate kiss. Their lips and tongues flow together perfectly, easily accommodating each others movements with each brush.

When the kiss ends, Jongin gently pulls back to look him in the eye. “Tell me everything.”

Kyungsoo nods. “Can I get dressed first?” he asks, already fishing around under the covers for his boxer briefs.

“No,” Jongin says cheekily, sticking his tongue out at him.

Kyungsoo’s face lights up into a huge smile as he swats Jongin’s shoulder. “I’ll just be a second, tiger. So impatient.” The comforter rustles as he yanks his underwear up and then hops out of the bed, trotting out of the room to rummage in his backpack and then heading to the bathroom with his change of clothes.

When he re-emerges, Jongin has finished making up the bed and fluffing the pillows at the head of it. He pats the spot on the mattress next to him. In simple sweats and a black tee, Kyungsoo takes a seat so they sit shoulder to shoulder, leaning against the headboard. Jongin is instantly reminded of their positions against the wall in the DD building, a mere 12 hours earlier. Has he really only known Kyungsoo for this short a time? It feels like a lifetime. Just as before, Jongin interlaces their fingers and listens, anxious to know him better, heart prepared for (hopefully) anything.

“So… you ready for the longer version of the story?” Kyungsoo asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I loved the theories from last ch about where Soo was. (Making breakfast was the top guess, followed by running away out of either fear from the 'I love you' or to go deal with the bad guys.) When I had originally outlined the story, last ch was going to include the front part of this ch with Baek's phone call, all the way up to Jongin opening the door and the line "Beneath the covers, Kyungsoo stirs." Buuuuut I figured it'd a) ruin the *ahem* pleasure of last ch and b) you guys might kill me. (I almost bulked up the front half this ch more and left you hanging with that line this time around, oops.)
> 
> Sorry if the angsty fear took you a bit by surprise, but this was always part of the story. Jongin’s failed mission is mentioned explicitly in Chs 1 and 8, the start of Ch 3 talks about why he drifted into the cat cafe in the first place, Ch 5 has Luhan alluding to that troubled time after the failed mission, etc. Without shoving it in your face too much, I tried to foreshadow the importance of that one failure multiple times. I'm curious, had you ever wondered what happened?
> 
> See you next ch (which no, still won't be the last one - I give up trying to estimate how many it'll take, sorry). Talk to me in the comments - love you guys.
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [Curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random note for this ch: If you're not familiar with Korean currency, think of 1,000 won as roughly $1.

Jongin feels the need to put everything he’s been told on the table, hopefully to make it easier on Kyungsoo. “Baekhyun told me a few things, before I could make him stop. He said your mom owned the house, but she went missing 11 years ago. And that it was, uh, just you two.” 

“Ah, Sunmi was always careful about that.” Kyungsoo gives a half-smile.

“Sunmi?” he asks, confused. “Was she not…”

“My mother. She is. Was. I’m not s--” Kyungsoo stops, pursing his lips together and dipping his head down a moment. He raises it with a tight-lipped smile, and it’s the saddest one Jongin has ever seen.  “I should start at the beginning.”

His chest tightens, seeing Kyungsoo look so solemn. Suddenly, he feels awful for pulling this out of him, forcing him to retrace what are must be painful steps of his past. “Hey, you don’t have to do this. I was starting on breakfast before I came in. I could--”

“No,” Kyungsoo holds his hand tightly. “I want to tell you. I just haven’t told anyone this before, so words aren’t coming to me easily.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out in one big puff before facing Jongin and starting again. “I knew my father, Jongin. He and Su-- my mom were married before I was born. I grew up in a mostly normal, happy family.”

“Can I ask why you call her by her name?”

“She never really wanted to be called ‘mom.’ That’s just her… way. I don’t think she’d ever wanted children.” Kyungsoo seems to realize how that sounds and stops to clarify. “Not that she disliked kids. She’s just… an extremely anxious person. Cautious to the point of paranoia. Which is why she never registered her marriage, or my dad as my father. Didn’t like records being kept on her, or tying other people to her. She always wanted to minimize that kind of thing.”

“Why?”

“I have a hunch she was in the industry before I was born. The spy industry, I mean. I don’t know for sure, but it makes the most sense.” Kyungsoo shrugs. “My dad was an agent, too.”

Jongin’s eyes go wide with surprise. “Do you know which company?”

“The very biggest,” Kyungsoo smirks. “I’m sure you’ve heard of it. It’s called The Blue House.”

Holy shit. A true government spy. “Damn,” Jongin mutters, impressed.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo sports a proud smile. “He was the best.” The smile slowly fades, and he clears his throat to continue. “Anyway, the first thirteen years of my life aren’t all that remarkable. I grew up like most kids, with the exception of having a kinda cold mother who preferred I address her by name. She took good care of me, made me do my homework and use good table manners, all the usual parent stuff just… from a safe distance. I was a lot closer to my dad.” A wide grin returns to Kyungsoo’s face. “We’d hang out every weekend he wasn’t away for work. He used to make me close my eyes and point on a map, and wherever my finger landed, we’d go to that area of the city and try to find the best place to eat. It was always an adventure, with a lot of laughs. But he also taught me a lot on those trips, like how to get around the city, how to read people. How to fight.” Kyungsoo licks over his lips before shooting Jongin a mischievous look. “Sunmi didn’t like that one.”

“I think my mom would’ve objected to that, too. Not that my dad would’ve known the first thing about grappling,” Jongin snorts, trying imagine his banker father doing anything even close to fighting.

They share a smile, and then a silence builds. They’ve been leaning against one another, shoulder pressed to shoulder, but Kyungsoo shifts, scooching down so he can lay his head on Jongin’s shoulder. 

Jongin nuzzles into Kyungsoo’s hair, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He stays there, trying to be a comforting presence. Because he knows the next part is unlikely to be easy to share. “What happened when you were 13?” he prompts gently.

“My dad didn’t come home.”

Oh. Jongin’s eyes well, but he doesn’t speak. No words seem good enough for this.

“We didn’t talk about it the next morning, him not being back from work. I think we were both afraid that talking about it would make it real, and maybe he was just delayed a day because of a big job or something. But…” Kyungsoo trails off, a limp gesture of his hand indicating that’s as far as that story goes.

“I’m so sorry,” Jongin whispers.

Kyungsoo soldiers forth. “Things didn’t change immediately. We stayed put and waited. Just in case. A month passed, then another. And then Sunmi started to kinda unravel. She got really jumpy, more nervous than usual. She said we had to move. She was worried whoever…  _ what _ ever killed my dad might come for us. She moved us across town, had me switch schools. Tried to get us to start over, created a new story that we told our neighbors and my teachers. That I… didn’t have a dad.”

Jongin draws a deep breath. “I can’t imagine having to start a new life like that.” To lie about who you are.

“Yeah,” he says pursing his lips. “We only stayed in that neighborhood for a few months. She told me she noticed some sketchy people, that we had to go. So we did. I didn’t question it at all the first time - I was just a kid. But then she got spooked by a convenience store clerk, so we moved again. And again, and again. It got to where she never felt safe anywhere for longer than a week. 

“Then, one of our do-gooder former neighbors reported her missing since we left without a trace after only a few days at a new apartment, and that made things go from bad to worse. Sunmi decided it was best to go completely off the grid, rather than show up and tell the cops anything about not being a missing person. ‘They’ll track us, they’ll find us,’ she kept saying. She really spiraled after that. Started using a new name and wouldn’t even tell me what it was ‘for my own protection.’ I had to quit school - there was no point in going when I knew I couldn’t be at any one school for more than a few days. I was 15 by then, and it was becoming clear to me that she had lost her grip on reality. I… I can’t tell you what it’s like to see your parent fall apart like that. I wasn’t sure what to do.”

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath and sits back up before continuing. “By the time I was 16, I think whatever money we’d had ran out. She told me-” he swallows. “She told me we’d do better to separate because the bad guys wouldn’t be able to track us as easily if we split. I know she really believed it, too. I tried reasoning with her, but she was so scared and just kept repeating it was the only way to protect me. She left me with 10,000 won and a list of people and places she thought I should stay away from because they were too dangerous. All of our old houses, of course, were on that list. And then she disappeared into the night. I honestly don’t know if she’s still alive or not.”

Jongin can’t imagine not knowing, not having closure. He thumbs over Kyungsoo’s knuckles soothingly.

“I made do. We had been mostly homeless the last six months together, anyway, and I had learned my way around the streets by then. I held simple jobs here and there, but I was still kinda conditioned to be paranoid, so I never stayed in one space for too long. It took awhile to shake off some the habits I’d picked up from my mom, but I knew… I knew my dad wouldn’t have wanted me to live looking over my shoulder like that. I was a kinda stuck in limbo for a long time, without a diploma and all. Then two years ago, things were… pretty bad. Bad enough that I went by my childhood house, just to see. The neighborhood had really gone downhill. Lots of drugs and gangs. But the house was still there, unoccupied. I found out through some careful asking around that we had owned it, that it was still in my mom’s name. So… I started using it as a home base every few nights.”

“Oh my God.” Jongin can feel the color drain from his face.

“I always knew it was a gamble, tiger. I knew there were meth dealers next door. When I came back and found it torched, my first thought was that it was the dealers, not liking that I was hanging around their operation. My second thought was that it was whoever killed my dad, but I dismissed that as Sunmi’s voice in my head, not mine. And then… I wondered if it was Sunmi, honestly. If she was mad that I had returned after she told me not to and was sending a message.”

“Kyungsoo,” he sobs. The sound pulls Kyungsoo out of his thoughts. He turns his whole body to face Jongin, pivoting on the bed so they sit cross-legged in front of each other.

“It was actually a  _ relief _ to find out it was an accident, Jongin. I’m serious. I actually laughed when I read the file. Fate works in weird ways, I guess.” He’s smiling encouragingly, thumbing away the tears that roll down Jongin’s cheeks. “In many ways, it’s only because that house, that ‘safety net’ was burned away, that I ended up in the PC bang every night instead. And in the cat cafe every day. It’s the spark that led me to today. To a job and to you…”

Kyungsoo pulls him forward, lips brushing over every tear-stained space on Jongin’s face and then kissing his eyelids as they flutter closed. There’s a peck to the tip of his nose, and a gentle press against his mouth.

Jongin doesn’t let him pull away. Where words fail, he lets his body speak. He gathers Kyungsoo in his arms, wrapping them tightly around him, as he kisses him more resolutely. Jongin wants to kiss all the pain away. He kisses like it can push back the past, til it’s erased from his lover’s mind and Kyungsoo won’t be able to think of anything but soft lips on lips, safe arms holding him close, warm chests pressed together, hearts beating rapidly in unison.

It seems to be working, as their passionate kisses become more insistent and mouths part to allow tongues to slip inside and tangle together. Kyungsoo lets out a light moan, and instinct takes over. Jongin pushes forward, tipping him back to lay down on the bed, his body following close behind. Kyungsoo has a hand stroking through his hair, fingertips curling sensually into Jongin’s scalp and setting his nerve endings ablaze with desire.

“I’m still sorry,” Jongin murmurs between kisses.

“Stop apologizing,” Kyungsoo says, humming appreciatively as their mouths reconnect. 

“I love you,” he confesses again, stealing the air off Kyungsoo’s lungs right after.

“I--”

There’s a crash in the hallway, the sound of the front door being kicked in, accompanied by a loud, panicked, “Jongin!!” in a familiar voice.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Kyungsoo groans, as both of them recognize the voice at once.

Baekhyun appears at the bedroom door frame, gun drawn and pointed at the two lovers, who’ve just broken their kiss to stare at Baek. Jongin remains hovering over Kyungsoo, glaring at the navigator.

“Okay, false alarm,” Baek says into his phone, putting away the gun. “We’ll be right over.” He ends the call on his cell and points accusingly at Jongin. “Don’t ever hang up on me like that again, mister! I thought- well, clearly,” he gestures at the two of them on top of each other, “I thought wrong. Uh… fill me in on the drive over, but I need you both to come with me to Prudence. I may have alerted certain folks to your, er, situation. So boss man wants to see Dyo. And Kai.”

God dammit, Baekhyun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sweet Kyungsoo T_T So yeah, there's a reason (beyond living on the streets) why Dyo is such a skilled operative. Runs in the family. Also, his outlook on life and happiness that he shared in the middle of Ch 9 during one of their missions might make more sense to you now. :-*
> 
> What'd you think about our dear Dyo's backstory? What do you think lies ahead from them at Prudence? Talk with me in the comments. <3
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [Curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	18. Chapter 18

Jongin slides off the bed and heads toward his closet to pick out one of his suits, frowning at the asymmetrical creases in the slacks. They need ironing. It’s barely 4pm. He’s  _ supposed  _ to have 5 hours before heading back to Prudence. His routine is completely thrown off, and he’s feeling prickly about it. (And the interruption of his intimate moment with Kyungsoo.) He scowls at Baekhyun. “Are we really pressed for time, or can we at least shower first?”

“I’d rather not wait around while you two to have shower sex,” Baek quips.

Jongin can feel his ears burn red. “Yah.” Oh, wrong move. He knows better than to show weakness to Baek’s teasing: it only invites more.

Mischievous smirk in place, Baekhyun turns his attention over to Kyungsoo to ask him, “So, Dyo, was he any good-”

“Baek!” Jongin yells, mortified.

“...or did you have trouble dislodging the stick up his aaah--!”

Baekhyun doesn’t get to finish because Kyungsoo grabs his arm and twists it behind his back in one fluid motion, forcing Baek to bend forward at the waist with Kyungsoo’s other hand gripping him by the nape of his neck. In a low tone, he mumbles menacingly in Baek’s ear: “Disrespect him like that again, Byun Baekhyun, and I will personally delete your beloved League of Legends profile.”

Jongin debates telling Kyungsoo it’s likely to happen again within the hour, so he shouldn’t make promises like that unless he intends to keep them. But he decides to let it play out, amused. “Wait, Baekhyun is your  _ real  _ name??”

“Yes, and it’s fabulous. There wasn’t an alias that was gonna top it unless they were gonna let me go by Badass, so I was granted an exemption. Ow, mercy! Mercy!” His attempt to untwist himself from Kyungsoo’s hold fails spectacularly, the agent locking him down tighter after his flail. Flustered, Baekhyun attempts to crane his head back to look at Kyungsoo, but can’t given the submission hold he’s in. “How did you know that?? Or about my LoL profile?!”

“Oh, I know everything, dipshit. So behave,” he croons, patting Baek’s cheek once. Kyungsoo releases him, letting him straighten back up. The navigator wastes no time putting distance between them, skittering back and out of the bedroom. “Or maybe you should keep your gaming off the damn work servers,” he snickers.

“Control your man. He’s a little insane,” Baekhyun barks at Jongin, wide-eyed, pointing a shaky finger at Kyungsoo. “Fine, take your showers. Be ready to leave in 15 minutes, though.”

“Don’t raid my fridge!” Jongin calls after him as Baekhyun shuts the bedroom door. Ugh, his leftovers stand no chance.

“You go first, tiger. It’s your shower after all,” Kyungsoo says, nodding toward the bathroom. He takes one of Jongin’s hands and strokes over his fingers. “Of course, I’d be down for a noisy shower fuck to get back at Byun, but I have a sneaking suspicion he might actually enjoy that.”

Jongin snorts and nods his agreement before giving him a peck on the lips. “Rain check?” he asks shyly.

“Definitely.” He gives Jongin that signature smile with his tongue poking between his teeth, saucily telling him: “Go shower - and no toy time or I’ll be jealous out here.”

Jongin turns on the shower spray to warm up and snaps a towel at him in retaliation. Kyungsoo chuckles and catches the towel edge, using it to tug Jongin toward him for another kiss, this one a little sweeter, a little longer. It’s bordering on making Jongin change his mind and yank him into the stall regardless of Baekhyun’s presence in the apartment, but Kyungsoo disconnects their mouths a split second before that can happen, stepping back and closing the bathroom door to give him his privacy.

Sigh. Okay, he can handle a quick shower alone. Get it together.

After a shampoo and rinse, he exits the stall, grabbing the dildo to hide it at the back of his bathroom cabinet, feeling weird about Kyungsoo showering next to it. (He’d taken to calling it DilDyo, and worries that’s going to get sussed out sooner or later.)  _ Maybe _ out of sight will mean out of mind. He fingercombs hair product through his fringe, sweeping it up and back on his way out of the bathroom to let Kyungsoo take his turn.

Jongin slips into his suit, fixing the collar on the jacket so it lays flat. He’s putting the finishing touches on his tie when Kyungsoo emerges from the bathroom, freshly showered. He’s back in his simple sweats and t-shirt combination, busy using one hand to towel dry his hair, wisps of it still damp as it falls down naturally framing his gorgeous face.

“Damn. You wear the full suit to the office?  _ This _ is what’s on the other side of the line this whole time?” Kyungsoo circles around him, looking him over appreciatively.

“Yeah. Despite Baekhyun, it’s a pretty formal atmosphere in the building.”

Kyungsoo eyes the tie with dark pupils before running a finger over the tidy half Windsor knot resting along Jongin’s throat. “Good thing I didn’t know about this, sweetheart, or I  _ would’ve _ been tempted to rub one out mid-mission,” he admits, voice deep and luring.

Jongin does his best to muffle the whine that rises up his throat. He can feel a familiar flush crawl up his face, still not sure what to say when Kyungsoo is like this. He wants to be tugged back into bed and stay there the whole night, but Baekhyun’s loud knock on the door signals that time is up.

“Ready or not, we gotta go, lovebirds. Get your dicks in pants and asses out the door, please and thank you!” he chirrups.

The ride to Prudence is relatively quiet. Jongin insists Kyungsoo sit up front with Baekhyun, if for no other reason than to clear his head and prevent temptation in the back seat. The theme song for a recent drama plays over the radio airwaves, and Jongin thinks he hears someone faintly humming along, but can’t make out which of the front passengers it is.

In a short time, they arrive. Baek pulls into the underground garage and parks in the space designated for the Employee of the Month.

“I didn’t know we  _ had _ an Employee of the Month,” Jongin comments.

“That’s because it’s been yours truly ever since I started here,” Baekhyun replies with a wink.

Gross. What exactly does he  _ do _ to-- no. No, Jongin doesn’t want to know.

They step inside the elevator, and Kyungsoo heads quietly all the way to the back corner. Jongin’s body follows him on autopilot, leaning against the polished silver rail that lines the elevator car. He notices Kyungsoo’s eyes flitting rapidly over the dark mahogany walls and patterned lights in the ceiling. Jongin sends him a questioning look, silently asking if something’s bothering him, but he gets a quiet shake of the head in response. Maybe it’s just a nervous habit, feeling the need to check new surroundings for safety. Jongin frowns and leans even closer, brushing the back of Kyungsoo’s hand comfortingly.

They ride the elevator up to the executive floor. 

“Irene, how are you? You look radiant in red,” Baekhyun greets the administrative assistant.

“Hello, Baekhyun,” she replies calmly. There’s a flash of recognition when she sees Kai, her mouth tightening in a thin line when she recalls his hasty brush off of her directive to stay out of Kris’s office yesterday. Kai ducks his head and bows her direction. “Kris is  _ ready _ to see you now,” she says icily.

“Thanks as always,” Baekhyun says, starting to saunter past the desk, but Irene reaches out and tugs him back by the sleeve.

“Not you. Just them,” she corrects him.

“But-”

“ _ Just _ them,” Irene emphasizes, her long lashes flashing wide with warning. Baekhyun frowns but nods demurely and goes to sit in one of the lobby armchairs. Holy cow, what kind of power, to shut Baekhyun up so easily. Kai needs to get tips from Irene later. Assuming she ever forgives him for locking her out of Kris’s office last night.

They push through the heavy door to enter the office, and Kris is seated in his large, leather desk chair, waiting for them. He looks both of them over and then gestures to the chairs in front of his desk. “Sit.”

Feeling the familiar nerves he usually gets around his intimidating boss, Kai settles into his chair cautiously. If he was on thin ice with Irene for his behavior last night, he can imagine he’s not going to be doing any better with Kris.

Dyo perches on the front edge of his chair and leans forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together. Kai notices the definition of his sharp jaw, standing out because it’s clenched tightly. He ends up staring for a little too long because he hears Kris clear his throat. He turns his attention forward.

“So we have a problem,” the boss says.

“We took care of it last night, I thought,” Kai replies, feigning ignorance as to what Kris really means and wanting to highlight what’s important: Dyo and Kai foiled an attack on civilians by a rival company.

“You  _ met  _ each other last night,” Kris states, giving Kai a dead-eyed stare that makes it clear he won’t be dragged off-topic. “The anonymity is shattered.”

“It won’t affect our work,” Kai lies.

“It will.”

“It wo--”

“It  _ will _ ,” Kris cuts him off. He turns toward the agent. “Not to mention, Dyo already knew your real name, which means he broke the anonymity clause prior to yesterday evening.  _ And _ could be a mole for all we know.” 

“He’s not,” Kai grits out angrily. Kris holds a hand up, telling him to stop, fully focused on Dyo’s reaction to the accusation.

“I didn’t know about the firebombing of my mother’s house when you hired me,” Dyo says evenly.

Kris leans back in his chair, not having expected such a forthcoming response. “So you admit you have a motive for wanting to infiltrate this agency and bring it down from the inside. But you’re claiming you didn’t know at the start? Then when?”

“A few weeks after I was hired. I searched the archives for the address, just out of curiosity.”

“Searched the-- You couldn’t have. Those files are encrypted and kept under the highest security clearance,” he fires back.

Dyo simply quirks an eyebrow at him and waits for him to connect the dots.

Kris sighs. “Right. Telecomm expert. And you growing close with Kai, the navigator in charge of that firebombing, is just… coincidental,” he questions, tone thick with disbelief.

Kai’s eyes meet Dyo’s and they hold. How to answer this. Should they come clean about the cat cafe or would that just further heighten Kris’s suspicions that there’s something sinister going on?

The boss groans as the silence stretches on. “I know this look. There’s too much--” Kris squeezes the bridge of his nose, grumbling. “You can’t keep working together.”

“But Wendy and Chen. Baekhyun and y--” Kai pulls up short, seeing a fiery glare from Kris before he completes the thought.

“That’s different. Both parties are in the office,” he states, keeping it ambiguous which pair or pairs he’s referring to. “They don’t have to make split second decisions regarding the other’s personal welfare that could be unduly influenced by feelings. Fieldwork  _ requires _ navigators and operatives to keep an impersonal distance.”

What. No. Kai feels everything starting to unravel before him. He knows where this is headed, can see the writing on the wall.

“Transfer him to a different navigator then,” he pitches, looking over worriedly at Dyo, who subtly shakes his head no, a resigned, sad smile on his lips.

“Like that solves anything. You’d be constantly harassing whoever his new partner was, or hovering,” Kris correctly surmises.

_ It’s okay, _ Dyo mouths.

It’s at this moment that Kai realizes how uncomfortably out of place Dyo must be feeling, dressed in his t-shirt and sweats on the top floor of Prudence’s swanky office building, in the executive suite, next to them in their full suits. He’s been dragged into a situation where he’s clearly at a disadvantage, and by the looks of it, he totally knows it.

Maybe he recognized it even in the elevator. He’s spent a lifetime being at a disadvantage.

Kris is straightforward. “The bottom line is, one of you has to go.”

Their heads both snap toward the boss. “I quit,” they say in unison.

Kris sighs and raises his fingers on his temples as if trying to massage away a headache. “That’s not… just... slow down.  _ I’m _ supposed to be the one to choose.”

Dyo recovers first and launches into his case. “I’m the bigger liability. I’ve worked here for less time, I hacked the archives. You should fire me.”

Oh hell no. There’s no way Kai is letting him take the fall like this. “I’m the one who truly broke the barrier. I insisted on meeting him in person when I demanded you let me go after him last night. And don’t forget I used physical force to convince you. That’s a violation of section 4.2 of the employee handbook: Assaulting a superior. Punishable by temporary suspension or even immediate dismissal.”

Dyo looks at him, bewildered. “You attacked Kris??”

“He wouldn’t tell me where you were,” Kai explains, involuntarily pouting.

“Aww, tiger,” he mumbles, clearly touched.

“Oh my God, you guys are disgusting,” Kris grumbles, face in his hands now. “And distracting. Shut up and let me think.” It’s quiet in the office for a bit. When Kris removes his hands and sees the two of them still mouthing words to each other in silent argument, he stands up. “For the love of-- get out of my office. Out of the building, actually, because neither of you are fit to work any missions today. I’ll contact you tomorrow once I’ve decided what to do about this mess.” He shoos them with a dismissive flick of his wrist.

Fine by Kai. He wastes no time getting up from his chair. Dyo, on the other hand, is starting to open his mouth again.

“You should also consider that I’m not technically as experi--” Kai cuts him off, one hand over his mouth and the other tugging the agent up by his arm. He knows Dyo could resist him if he wanted to, but he doesn’t fight it, letting Kai half-way manhandle him out of the room.

“What are you thinking?” he mumbles as soon as they’re out of Kris’s office door. Irene is nowhere to be found, seemingly on break.

“I’m not letting you get fired from a job you’ve had for far longer than I have. A job that you’re amazing at,” Kyungsoo mutters back, his tone firm as iron.

“So what if I’ve worked here longer? I didn’t even like it all that much before you came along. And speaking of being amazing, you’re a much bigger asset, making tech that will help literally  _ every _ agent in the company.”

“You shouldn’t let me disrupt your life like this.”

“Stop that.”

“What?”

“Acting like you’re some kind of burden, when you’re the best damn thing that’s happened in my life since…” Jongin racks his brain for the last time he’s been this happy. And comes up with nothing, so the sentence hangs there in the air, incomplete.

Kyungsoo licks over his lips and glances down at his feet. “We both know I started this mess.” He looks back up at Jongin, stubbornly insisting, “I’d feel terrible if you got fired because I wouldn’t stay in my lane, was always egging you on to break the rules.”

Jongin shakes his head in disbelief. “And I’d feel horrible making you lose a good, solid job like this.”

“Nah, I’m… used to being unemployed,” Kyungsoo gives him a nonchalant shrug. “I’ll figure something out,” he says dismissively.

“Am I privileged to witness the first lovers’ spat?” An overly enthused Baekhyun bounces up to their whispered conversation and throws an arm around each of them.

They shrug him off simultaneously.

“Ah, do you want me to go talk to Kris?” he says with an expectant look. “More than happy to.”

Kai chews on his bottom lip, contemplating the offer since it’s become clear that Baekhyun is the boss’s weak spot. “Convince him to keep both of us on staff, and I’ll consider you a true manipulative ninja.”

“Ooo, a challenge. But a nearly impossible one at that. Hmm, did he dismiss you for the day?” Baek asks.

“Yeah. Ordered us out of the building, actually,” Dyo explains.

“A rare day off! Lucky for you guys. Okay, but I’m not a taxi service. You’re on your own to go back to Kai’s place. Or… wherever you’re going,” Baekhyun trails off a little awkwardly, remembering they were just arguing. “I’ve got work to do.” He rubs his hands together and then slips into Kris’s office, clicking the lock behind him.

They stand there in silence before Kyungsoo clears his throat. “Maybe I should head--”

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?” Jongin blurts out.

“Tonight?”

“Right now.” That nagging fear returns, that if he leaves his sight, Kyungsoo might disappear into the busyness of Seoul.

“It’s not even 5pm, sweetheart,” Kyungsoo says with a grin, pointing to the clock on the wall. “And I’m a little underdressed. Or you’re a little overdressed, one of the two.”

“Right,” Jongin acknowledges. “Then, let’s go back to my place so I can change out of this.”

Kyungsoo smirks, leaning in to whisper in his chocolatey tone. “So eager to get undressed around me. Haven’t you had enough excitement for one day, tiger?”

Jongin grabs his hand and tugs him toward the elevator, turning away to hide the burning red on his cheeks and ignoring Kyungsoo’s fond chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, the past NINE chapters have all occurred within a 24 hour period. WHEW.
> 
> Hopefully the lighter elements in this chapter was a nice breath of spyau air after the drama and mild angst of the recent ones. I love (unspoken) boyfriends, how bout you?
> 
> Til next time
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [ask.fm](http://ask.fm/at1stsoo)


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Chapter is rated for sexual content.

They ride the subway back to Jongin’s place, managing to find seats because they’re one beat ahead of rush hour. They sit mostly in silence, work bags on their laps as the train whooshes through the tunnel. Kyungsoo’s thumbs fiddle with the straps on his backpack cutely, suggesting that maybe Jongin’s not the only one with some first-date nerves.

Or, not nerves. Anticipation. Every first with Kyungsoo is exciting. 

When Jongin unlocks his apartment door, he remembers to hold it open for his guest and gestures Kyungsoo to follow inside before untying his dress shoes and putting things in their designated places.

“Here, lemme help,” Kyungsoo murmurs, sliding his hands along the shoulders of the suit jacket to gently peel it off of him.

“Thanks,” Jongin replies with a grin as he watches him hang it up in its proper spot in the closet. It’s nice, how in step Kyungsoo seems to be with him, having already picked up on his routine. Ever the observant fellow.

He can feel Kyungsoo’s eyes on him as he undoes his tie, and Jongin gulps, unsure if maybe he should head to the bathroom to change. He focuses on unbuttoning his dress shirt for the moment, fingers fumbling a bit.

“I’d offer to keep helping you out of your clothes…” Kyungsoo says, voice edging between playful and sultry as he runs a digit down the row of buttons lining his chest, “but we might not make it out to dinner if I do.” He places a soft peck on Jongin’s cheek and then steps back out of his personal space, turning to study the artwork on the bedroom wall, as if not trusting himself to keep away from temptation if his eyes remain on Jongin.

“I-- I’ll just be a second,” Jongin replies, face flushing. He  _ is _ hungry, and they deserve a real date before… assuming they might later… He forces his runaway thoughts to hush. One step at a time.

He hangs the shirt in the closet and goes for a simple streetwear look to match Kyungsoo’s casual attire, pulling on a tee and a white Levi’s sweatshirt before slipping off his slacks and yanking on dark denim jeans in a flash.

“So, what kind of food do you like?” he asks conversationally.

Kyungsoo shrugs. “I’m not picky.”

“There’s a good dimsum place I know on the other side of the river?”

Kyungsoo nods agreeably. “Sure, whatever you want.”

“And I’m paying, because I asked you,” Jongin clarifies upfront.

Kyungsoo looks like he’s ready to object but seems to notice the sincerity of Jongin’s wish and closes his mouth. “Okay,” he agrees with a small smile. 

Jongin steps in front of the bathroom mirror to muss the gel a bit out of his hair, letting it fall down a little more naturally. “You could leave your bag here if you want,” he offers to Kyungsoo, as casually as he can muster. “Just so you don’t have to drag it all over town.”

It means he’ll have to return, here, to Jongin’s bedroom, at the end of the night. The way Kyungsoo’s tongue swipes over his lips as he contemplates the offer suggests he understands the implication, too.

“Alright.” He lets the brown backpack slide off his shoulders slowly, one strap at a time, his forearm muscles flexing beautifully with the action, before setting it by the bedroom door. Lord, does  _ everything _ this man does have to be so damn sensual? Even how he bends over to fish his hoodie out of the pack - the sweatpants cling in all the right places, hot damn. Jongin tears his eyes away.

Aside from the lust, there’s an innocent glee that Jongin experiences in seeing the backpack sit in his room. However the date goes, Kyungsoo leaving his stuff behind means he’s committed to coming back, guaranteeing at least a little more time together. It’s a small thing, but it makes Jongin giddy. He can’t hold back the smile that erupts on his face, so he busies himself with getting his wallet and keys to try to distract from his pleased heart beating erratically in his chest.

They have to struggle onto a busy subway car this time, hitting the peak of rush hour traffic as all the 9-to-5 business people are on their commutes home. They find a spot to stand together, holding onto a rail. The car sways gently, and Jongin knocks into the back of Kyungsoo as the guy behind him accidentally hits him with his briefcase.

“Sorry,” Jongin murmurs, having to place a hand on Kyungsoo’s waist to steady himself.

In lieu of a response, Kyungsoo takes the hand on his waist and tugs it into the pouch on his hoodie, where he twines their fingers together. It lets Jongin fully backhug the shorter male, their hands now pressed against Kyungsoo’s stomach while hidden in his hoodie pocket. Jongin blushes and glances around, quickly realizing no one is paying them any attention. They’re surrounded by hundreds of people who are absorbed in their phones or trying to sleep after a long work day.

He leans in even closer, enjoying the warmth of the agent’s firm back pressed against his chest, and catches the corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth curve up into a contented smile.

The subway car continues to gently rock back and forth as it speeds through the tunnels, and Jongin feels he could ride it all the way to the line and still wish there was more track. Because standing here, swaying back and forth with Kyungsoo, is perfect. Almost like a simple slow dance to the rhythm of the city.

Sadly, they reach their station a few minutes later. Jongin steps out, leading the way and tugging Kyungsoo behind him.

The dimsum restaurant is a small place near the Han River. Jongin bows politely to the hostess, who greets him cheerfully.

“Ah, Mr. Kim! Lovely to see you again. Table for two?”

Jongin nods, and they’re quickly seated at a spot near the window. The view of the water is perfect, allowing them to watch the sun set over the horizon.

They look over their menus, and Jongin points out his favorite dishes.

“So, you come here often then?” Kyungsoo surmises.

“Not terribly regularly, but it’s one of my favorite spots, yeah. The river’s really pretty at dinnertime.”

Kyungsoo admires the view and hums. “Very date appropriate. And when was the last time you wined and dined a special someone here?”

Caught mid-sip, Jongin nearly snorts water from his glass. He shakes his head no. “I come here with my parents. That’s how I know the hostess - her dad works with my father.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” 

“I haven’t had a date in… an embarrassingly long time,” Jongin admits.

A waiter, who also recognizes Jongin, interrupts by striding over to greet him and engage in light small talk before taking their order. After he leaves, Jongin stirs his water with a straw and ventures a similar question. “What about you? When’s the last time you had a date?”

Eyes turned up to the ceiling as he tries to remember, Kyungsoo gnaws on the corner of his mouth. It’s  _ very _ distracting, seeing teeth press into that plump lower lip. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been on what’s considered a proper ‘date,’ actually.”

Oh. He should’ve known better than to ask that. Before Jongin can apologize, Kyungsoo continues.

“But the last time I was in a relationship of sorts was a little over two years ago.”

“Oh?” Jongin’s dying of curiosity but hesitant not to pry.

“Yeah, I was seeing someone who was a nice guy, in general. Didn’t end well though.” Kyungsoo makes a humorous grimace, showing he’s fine with the topic and playfully inviting more questions on it.

“What happened? You have a falling out over whether Fullmetal Alchemist or Death Note was superior?” Jongin asks with a teasing edge, not afraid of rehashing their friendly debate over the two animes.

“It’s Fullmetal Alchemist and I’d really rather not have to fight you on our first date, Jongin,” he sasses back with a mock stern face.

Jongin laughs and puts his hands up. “Okay, okay,” he says, resigned. He waits a beat before adding. “Stay delusional.”

“Yah.” Kyungsoo steps on his toes under the table, causing Jongin to yank them back. The next minute is spent playing a silly version of a thumb war with their feet, which gradually settles down into something more akin to footsie.

“Clearly, there’s only one way to settle this,” Kyungsoo pronounces.

“And what’s that?”

“We have to watch them, together, from start to finish, back to back, and see if we can’t come to an agreement.”

Jongin’s brain quickly does the math: That’s 101 total episodes, a little over 20 minutes each. Forty guaranteed hours with Kyungsoo. AKA:  _ heaven _ .

“And if we still don’t agree?” Jongin challenges.

“Something tells me we’ll work it out.” The words are soft, but convicted, spoken with a promise behind them that hints at much more than anime preferences.

Jongin lets out a shaky breath, and with it, lets go of the fear that Kyungsoo might slip away and vanish if he left his sight. Jongin knows he’s been holding tight to each moment with him since they met face to face, as if it’s all been a dream that might dissipate. But Kyungsoo’s giving him reassurance, putting down anchors now, specific points to tie their time together.

God, it feels good to imagine the future and know he’ll be there.

From across the table, Kyungsoo smiles at him, his gaze oh-so-fond. In the background, the sky has turned a gorgeous blood orange color as the sun sinks below the horizon, bringing the day to a close. The moment is picturesque, serenely beautiful. 

Jongin has waited so long for his mundane existence to feel like it’s actually going somewhere, moving forward. And here with Kyungsoo, it feels like it finally is. The exhilaration of the past 24 hours courses through his memories and his veins and spurs him to share his thoughts. He leans forward on the table to take Kyungsoo’s hand in his and confess: “This has been the single greatest day of my life.”

With tender eyes, Kyungsoo replies, “Mine, too.”

\------------------

After their meal, they stroll along the Han River. Kyungsoo offers, tongue in cheek, to show him where his favorite places were to loiter at night. Naturally, Jongin jumps at the opportunity, eager to learn more about him and appreciate every facet of Do Kyungsoo.

They wander leisurely over to watch the Banpo Bridge rainbow fountain, legs dangling over the side of the river’s edge. Since it’s a clear night, there’s a good sized crowd that’s gathered around to watch the show, with couples grabbing snacks and families trying to keep their kids in line. After a some lively discussion about favorite food stalls that line the area, Jongin broaches the topic of the past boyfriend again.

“So, if it wasn’t irreconcilable anime preferences,” he asks, squeaking when Kyungsoo pinches his thigh, “how did things really end with the last guy?”

“You’re that curious about him, huh?”

“No, I’m that curious about  _ you _ ,” Jongin corrects, taking the opportunity to poke one of his round cheeks. Kyungsoo retaliates by pretending to nip at it. They giggle, and then Jongin continues. “What went wrong?” he inquires softly.  _ Tell me so I don’t make the same mistakes. I don’t want to screw this up, help me not screw this up. _

Kyungsoo tucks himself into Jongin’s side and tells him the story, head laying on his shoulder while they watch the pretty lights on the bridge come to life.

“He worked at a bathhouse, which was of course a good option for a place to spend the night, when I had the money for it,” he explains. “Turned out that it was actually a family-owned bathhouse -  _ his _ family’s. Anyway, that’s how we met. We were together a couple of months before he figured out I was actually homeless.”

“He dumped you over that?” Jongin asks, offended.

“Eh, it was more that he felt I was using him just to stay in the bathhouse for free, since I’d come to see him at work a lot and stay over so we could, uh, be together. And… to be fair, that perk was one of the original reasons I started flirting with him. But wasn’t the reason I had  _ kept  _ talking to him, or seeing him. I genuinely liked him.” He shrugged. “It’s my fault for not being honest earlier, I suppose. In the end, he told all his friends there and at the other neighborhood bathhouses to ban me, that I was a homeless con artist or something to that effect, so that killed that overnight option for good.”

Jongin frowns, feeling regretful for bringing it up since it was darker than he anticipated. “I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“Yeah, it kinda did. But it’s behind me. I have a policy, to not dwell on the past.” He lifts his head off Jongin’s shoulder and turns, warm brown eyes running over every contour of Jongin’s face. “I’d rather spend every second appreciating how good I have it now.”

Such tender words, they sink into his skin, into his soul. Their faces are so close, he can feel Kyungsoo’s breath in the still night air. Jongin’s desire to kiss him is so strong, he admits it out loud. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

“You could, you know.” There’s no chiding, no challenge in his tone. Just simple sincerity. “You could do just about anything you want to, if you can step past the fear of what might happen.”

There’s one fleeting moment of contemplation, and then Jongin closes the small distance between their mouths, stealing a soft kiss off Kyungsoo’s lips. He lingers as long as he dares, relishing the feel of Kyungsoo’s plush lips against his own.

Someone walking past tuts at them as they’re breaking apart. Jongin pays them no mind, though. He’s solely focused on Kyungsoo’s dazzling smile beaming at him. The rainbow fountain show ends, the water streams fading out in the background, and Kyungsoo stands and tugs him up.

“Your turn now: Show me this stargazing field of yours, sweetheart.”

\---------------

They take the subway out to the field Jongin’s visited a few times now, on the outskirts of the city. It’s quiet and nearly pitch black, allowing the stars to shine brightly. Jongin points out the lounging area he normally uses, and they lay back in the soft grass to gaze up at the universe.

“So  _ besides _ Orion’s belt, what’s your favorite star formation? Or do you not know any others yet?” Kyungsoo teases him, after listening to him discuss the three stars that they’d previously looked for together while on a mission.

“Mmm, probably Ursa Minor, the Little Bear constellation.” Jongin gestures at the star formation. “It’s these seven right here.”

“Little bear: that’s cute. But… I’m not seeing it.” Kyungsoo squints up at the night sky trying to follow Jongin’s directions but failing.

“Here.” Jongin slides closer, until their cheeks are pressed together so he can see what Kyungsoo sees. He takes Kyungsoo’s hand and makes him extend his index finger, using it to point up at the specific stars in hopes that helps. “Here’s what’s supposed to be the body, and here’s the tail.” Jongin traces the path of the stars with Kyungsoo’s fingertip, making it dance lightly across the sky.

“Show me again.”

Jongin repeats the motion and the description of the constellation, guiding him by the wrist. 

“One more time.” There’s a hint of amusement in Kyungsoo’s tone of voice, betraying the fact that he probably  _ doesn’t  _ actually need help and is just toying with him. So Jongin begins to retrace the constellation gently before moving Kyungsoo’s arm in a much wider, complicated path of elegant figure eights.

“See it now?” he teases.

Kyungsoo giggles and slides his hand down, lacing their fingers together, and pulling them down to press a sweet kiss to the back of Jongin’s hand. “I see it. Was just enjoying your touch, tiger.”

He feels Kyungsoo shift beside him, turning his head so he can nuzzle against his cheek, the tip of his nose brushing slow circular patterns against Jongin’s cheekbones before moving over to the whirl of his ear.

The intimate touch and warm breath against his sensitive skin makes Jongin’s heart race. “I thought we came here to stargaze,” he rasps out as he feels Kyungsoo’s lips drag over his lobe. The subsequent nip on his ear causes a moan to slip out.

Kyungsoo props himself up on an elbow to stare down into Jongin’s eyes. “Well you’re the star of all my daydreams, and I’m gazing at you, does that count?” he asks with a smirk.

“Cheesy,” Jongin chides, even as he blushes.

“Yeah, but you love it.” And without leaving room for a retort, Kyungsoo dips down for a full-fledged kiss. Nothing light and flirty about this one: it’s the intense kind of kiss that has Jongin’s toes curling and head spinning in no time. Kyungsoo’s warm palm is cradling the back of his neck as his skillful tongue is coaxing whimpers from his mouth. Jongin throws an arm across Kyungsoo’s back, pulling him further on top of him until he’s feeling the agent’s weight pressing him down into the grass, just like he’d dreamed of, and--

_ Splash. _

Cold water abruptly interrupts their make out session, spraying over them in sudden bursts.

“Sprinklers?? You lay in the middle of sprinklers to star watch??” Kyungsoo is laughing as he scrambles to his feet, yanking him up by the front of his hoodie to get up and out of the blast zone of the persistent sprinkler head near them.

“They’ve never come on before!” Jongin yelps in explanation as they both run for the street.

They spill out into the road, giggling and disheveled, with water spots all over their clothes. Kyungsoo got the worst of the initial spray, and his hair is soaked in front. He’s shaking the water out of it, and trying to comb it back out of his face all while letting loose that deep, dorky chuckle of his. Out of breath from laughing and bent over with hands on his knees, Jongin watches and swoons over the sight of a wet Kyungsoo with his blinding heart-shaped smile.

They’re a mess, but a happy mess. 

The wind picks up and sends a chill through their damp clothes. “Let’s go home before we catch a cold,” Jongin suggests, taking him by the hand and heading toward the station.

\------

By the time they get through the apartment door, Jongin is more than ready to get out of the water-soaked clothes. He gestures to his washer/dryer off the kitchen. “You can toss your stuff in there and I’ll do a small load,” he offers, pulling his wet hoodie up and off.

Kyungsoo makes no move to disrobe, though. “I don’t have a change of clean clothes with me, actually,” he explains. “Maybe I should head back to my--”

“You can just borrow some of mine. I’ve got plenty!” Jongin stupidly proclaims, pulling open drawer as if needing to prove he’s fully stocked with an assortment of t-shirt options.

Kyungsoo gives a lopsided grin, gently tugging Jongin by the wrist away from the dresser to face him. “It’s not just the clothes, sweetheart.” He hooks his fingers through the belt loops in Jongin’s jeans, drawing him in even closer. “I want…” he starts to say, but pauses. His thumbs brush underneath the shirt’s hem, along Jongin’s bare skin just above his hip bones, eliciting a soft moan from Jongin’s lips as the touch sends tendrils of pleasure across his body. Hearing the sound, Kyungsoo stops the caress and gazes up to search his face with serious eyes. “But I don’t want to overstay my welcome.” 

Nonsense, and he’s going to make sure Kyungsoo knows it. Jongin leans down for a deep kiss before murmuring the truth against those wonderfully pliable lips: “You could stay forever and still not overstay your welcome.” He cradles Kyungsoo’s head with his hands as his passionate liplock ends up backing Kyungsoo up against the bedroom wall. The thud rips a delicious moan out of him.

“You can’t keep saying things like that, Jongin.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” he breathes between heated kisses, “you’ll make me fall even more in love with you than I already am.”

Even more in love… Kyungsoo’s in  _ love _ with him. That magnetic pull that’s always between them dials up dramatically, the air seeming abuzz with electricity. Jongin swoons into the next kiss and feels his heart overflow, emotions spilling all over the floor like the clothes that are now getting discarded one by one. Lips and hands pull at each other in desperation to touch, feel, consume. The need to unite their bodies is stronger than ever, doubly as urgent as it was yesterday. How is that even possible? The pressing desire is felt by both of them it seems, giving how hands are now fumbling everywhere against zippers.

“Please fall more for me. Why wouldn’t I want that?” Jongin asks while yanking off Kyungsoo’s soaked shirt.

“I can be clingy.” He tugs hard on the damp jeans stubbornly sticking to Jongin’s legs.

“Good, so can I. See? We’re perfect for each other.”

They’re smiling into their wet kisses now, hearts soaring and high on each other’s eagerness to be together, body and soul, with no heavy secrets or boundaries between them anymore.

All traces of clothes finally gone, they make their way onto the bed. Kyungsoo wraps a hand around both their hardening cocks, and the sensation has Jongin moaning obscenities immediately, clinging onto his lover’s shoulders while he feels an aggressive suckle on his bottom lip. Kyungsoo’s tongue laps over it before delving back inside his panting mouth.

“Ahhhh, Soo,” he whimpers as Kyungsoo squeezes up and down their shafts. He can feel himself leaking already. His precum dribbles down between their cocks and causes them to slide against each other, crowns of their cockheads giving and receiving incredible friction to each other.

They moan in unison, and Kyungsoo cards his fingers through Jongin’s hair.

“What do you want, tiger?”

Such a fucking considerate lover. He already took such good care of Jongin last time, it should probably be Jongin’s turn to flip the question back on him but fuck it, he can’t help but be greedy.

“You buried in me and not holding back this time,” he mutters between gasps as he fucks into Kyungsoo’s skillful hand, loving how he can feel Soo’s dick throb against his.

“You sure?” He sucks a trail of love bites along Jongin’s collarbone amid grunts of pleasure from the continuous rub of their cocks. “Don’t want to try topping?”

“Not tonight.” Now that they’re in bed again, Jongin’s body is positively craving that feeling of being filled by his man once more. He’s addickted.

“Okay, baby.” Still kneeling on the bed, he lets go of their shafts to reach for supplies in the bedside table.

Panting, Jongin stares down at Kyungsoo’s thick cock, flushed red and full. He eyes the vein on the underside that he figures was the one he could feel pulsing against his own dick just moments before, and on pure want, leans in to tongue along its path.

“Ah, fuuucckkk.” Kyungsoo’s rich baritone voice cursing above him encourages Jongin to lave at his cock again.

Yep, this is the source of that delightful pulsing sensation. Damn, it feels incredible even on Jongin’s tongue. He sucks wet kisses along it several times in appreciation before swirling his tongue around the tip and sucking down the whole cock steadily.

“Ooooh, damn, Jongin.” Kyungsoo cards fingers through his hair, sweeping his fringe up off his forehead and giving himself a better view of him sinking down on his cock. “ _ Fuck _ , that’s it,” he praises as Jongin takes him in until the head bumps against the back of his throat.

The praise sends that familiar thrill through him, making him all the more eager to please his lover. He bobs slowly, trying to use the tip of his tongue to stroke along that delightful vein.

“Arggh, so good, baby. You suck dick so damn well, fuck.” Kyungsoo’s chocolate voice continues to purr words of approval at him, making Jongin moan around the heavy shaft that feels oh-so-right sliding down his throat.

The vibrations from his moans seem to be affecting Kyungsoo, who goes from gently stroking Jongin’s cheeks in encouragement to gripping the back of his neck. Fingers curl into the base of his hair as he keeps sinking up and down the spit-slicked cock, giving his best. A few more hard sucks, and Kyungsoo tugs him off with a loud groan.

Their mouths meet in a messy crash of lips and tongues and teeth. He can feel Kyungsoo’s chest heaving against his own and runs a finger over a hardened nipple, enjoying hearing and feeling how aroused Soo is.

“You want me to not hold back, huh?” he rasps out between kisses.

Jongin nods vigorously, noses brushing with the motion.

“You sure you’re not too sore for that?”

He’s a little sore, but barely sore. And he wants nothing more than to be truly sore, courtesy of Kyungsoo’s fat dick.

But he can’t quite bring himself to voice that aloud, still too shy, so he just nods again. “I’m sure. Please.”

One more fervent kiss, and then Kyungsoo strokes the expanse of his back. “‘kay. Get on your hands and knees for me, sugar.”

Jongin is quick to comply, arranging himself to face the headboard and looking back over his shoulder at Kyungsoo. “Like this?”

Kyungsoo’s dark eyes rake over him, pupils fully blown as he approaches from between Jongin’s legs, gently widening them to open him up a tad more. Jongin drops his head, mildly self-conscious all of a sudden at how shamelessly and quickly he bared himself, but Kyungsoo’s reassuring hands are caressing up and down the length of his back, immediately washing that away.

“Damn, you’re beautiful,” he murmurs with complete adoration, and Jongin’s heart sings. 

Gentle kisses start at the nape of his neck and travel lightly down his spine. Jongin hears the pop of the lube cap and then feels the soft pads of Kyungsoo’s warm fingers spreading his ass with one hand, followed by a wet digit rubbing over his rim. He whimpers involuntarily and presses back, inviting it inside.

Kyungsoo pumps his middle finger slowly in and out of him, leaving fluttering kisses against his left ass cheek at the same time. “So nice to be able to see this gorgeous ass up close this time. Can’t wait to watch my cock push into this pretty hole of yours.”

The crooning, filthy words cause Jongin to release some of his own expletives. He rocks back harder on Kyungsoo’s hand. “Do it, Soo. Please,” he begs.

“Patience,” he susserates, adding a second finger and kissing over to drag his lips along the cleft of Jongin’s ass. “Don’t worry, I’ll give it to you good in just a minute. You’re still amazingly tight, damn,” he praises, gently scissoring his fingers to stretch him. As Jongin slowly loosens, Kyungsoo dips his tongue in alongside his fingers, lapping over the rim each time the wet organ retreats.

Jongin is rapidly dissolving into a moaning mess and slipping down onto his elbows from the weight of the pleasure building inside him. Thankfully, Kyungsoo deems him ready just before he’s about to beg for cock again.

The warmth of Kyungsoo’s mouth and fingers disappear so he can wrap up, but in no time, Kyungsoo’s sure hands are back, softly stroking his waist until they settle in on his hips.

Jongin pushes back up onto his hands and braves looking back over his shoulder to see Kyungsoo line up and watch, enraptured, as his cock pushes in. They groan in unison at the sensation of Kyungsoo slowly sinking it until he bottoms out. Jongin pants wildly, relishing how it feels to be wrapped so tightly around Kyungsoo and trying to will his muscles to relax a bit.

“Fuck, you feel perfect.” Kyungsoo’s thumbs rub the small of Jongin’s back, and it all feels so nice. It feels even better as he starts rotating his hips in small circles, not yet pulling back to thrust, but providing a little movement and alternating pressure against Jongin’s sensitive walls.

“Ahhhh,” Jongin moans before rocking forward and backward minutely. Kyungsoo takes that as his cue to move, and starts a series of slow thrusts, each one ratcheting up Jongin’s heart rate.

“Faster,” Jongin cries.

Kyungsoo picks up speed gradually, the lube squelching obscenely as the pace increases. “You look so good on my cock, baby, damn.” The praise sends a jolt of pleasure through Jongin, enough to make his own dick twitch between his legs. 

The hands on Jongin’s hips are gripping him harder now, revealing how intense things are growing for Kyungsoo. It has heat coiling in Jongin’s stomach, and he presses back to meet each of Kyungsoo’s thrusts.

“Yes, yes, fuck, it’s like you were born to take cock, Jongin, holy shit,” he groans, appreciating each perfectly timed rock back from Jongin.

“Just yours, Soo,” he moans. “Only yours.”

He must have said the magic words, because suddenly Kyungsoo is fucking him harder than ever, hips snapping against him with a bang each time. Jongin wails with pleasure because fuck, this is everything he wanted.

Sensing they’re both about to tip over the edge, Kyungsoo’s rough, aroused voice gives him a few more pushes toward ecstasy. “So good, so damn good. That’s it, baby, come for me.” The praise echos around in Jongin’s sex-addled brain and all the pleasure spills over as he orgasms hard. Kyungsoo’s cock keeps pounding inside him, milking him as he comes in long strips of white over the mattress. Jongin gasps as he finishes and feels Kyungsoo give a few more drawn out thrusts as he groans through his own climax, and then they’re both collapsing on the bed, falling thankfully to the side of the mess they’ve made.

In the post-orgasm high, they gasp together, trying to suck in the thick air of the room. Kyungsoo’s still inside him as they spoon, clutching onto each other as their breathing slowly evens out. Kyungsoo’s chin is tucked over his left shoulder, their arms wound together around Jongin’s waist, and legs are pleasantly tangled up. Jongin kinda wishes they could stay like this forever, never feeling more complete than when their bodies are connected from head to toe like this.

“I really love you,” Kyungsoo whispers suddenly.

Jongin’s face blooms with a lazy smile. “I really love you, too.”

“Promise me you won’t mess up your job or your life for me.”

Jongin startles a little at that. “You’re not messing anything up,” he says, frowning and trying to crane back a little to pout at him.

“Just promise me,” Kyungsoo repeats weakly, sounding on the verge of sleep.

“I’m tired,” Jongin says, not untruthfully, pressing a kiss to one of Kyungsoo’s hands on his chest. “Let’s talk after we nap, okay?”

Kyungsoo drifts off before he can reply. Jongin snuggles back even closer into his chest, and ponders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, this chapter kinda got away from me. Sorry for the long wait between updates this time: I was in Korea for half a month to help with some family stuff. I tried to get it published before I left, but that didn't happen. I spent 2 full weeks on all the fluff & romance of the first half of this ch and then decided yesterday to go ahead and let them f*ck bc my lovely wife/beta indigomini welcomed (demanded) it, as did my pal Jiloo when briefly consulted.
> 
> Please let me know what you enjoyed in the chapter. (Crossing my fingers some of it was from the sweet & fluffy section; also crossing my fingers this smut which I wrote in one sitting didn't suck or feel out of place OTL) I love talking with you all and always reply to comments! <3
> 
> Thanks for reading :-* Until next time...
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	20. Chapter 20

Jongin does fall asleep for a quick cat nap, but his body is accustomed to being wide-awake during the midnight hours, so he is up and alert half an hour later. He slides out of bed and gets dressed, leaving Kyungsoo to continue dozing amid the sheets.

He brews a plain cup of coffee in his kitchen. His fingers drum on the countertop as it drips down into a mug, lips twitching into a half-smile as he thinks about the fancy machine back in the office that Dyo gifted him. The other navigators better not be leaving the spouts uncleaned after using it, lazy asses.

As he sips his drink at his kitchen table, Jongin’s mind methodically flicks through his options for what comes next. Kyungsoo’s words from earlier replay in his head:

_“You could do just about anything you want to, if you can step past the fear of what might happen.”_

He pulls out his phone with resolve. He has some calls to make.

\---------

 _Ding._ The elevator announces his arrival on the fourth floor.

“Hey you! I can’t believe we missed all the excitement!” Wendy is a ball of enthusiasm, long hair bouncing as she rushes to greet Kai when he emerges from the elevator.

“Baek’s been blabbing, huh?” He shouldn’t be surprised.

Chen pokes his head around the corner from his workspace. “Well hello there, lover boy,” he simpers. “Gossip time!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be working? It’s…” Kai checks his watch. “Only 4am.”

“Paperwork can wait. I want to hear all about this dramatic storm out of the office to rescue your dreamy Dyo,” Wendy squeals, tugging him by the wrist into the break room. Chen looks pouty but follows right behind.

“I wasn’t _dramatic_ , I was appropriately concerned about my partner,” Kai corrects her calmly.

“Pffft,” Chen blows a loud raspberry before he starts imitating Kai’s voice. “ _‘The coffee machine was for me, from Dyo to_ meeee _!’_ ” He limps over to the espresso machine and clutches it in a possessive hug, pressing his cheek against the chrome and fake ugly-crying. He quits acting and straightens up a moment later. “No wonder you babied this thing, always polishing it and treating it like your firstborn son.”

“Okay, first of all, I never hugged the machine. And second of all, you guys are just slobs. I simply provide the recommended maintenance in the user manual.”

“After every cup,” Chen snickers.

“It’s the factory guidelines to keep it under warranty!”

“Boys!” Wendy claps her hands to interrupt them. “Let’s not bicker. Give us the scoop. What exactly happened when you met?” She props elbows on the table and sets her chin on her hands, eagerly leaning forward for the info. “Was it love at first sight?”

Seeing as how he only confessed his feelings the day before and is a private person, Kai should balk at the question. But given what’s ahead, he wants to share the truth. “It was more like love at first listen, to be honest.”

“All that denial before, and now you’re straight to the point. Wow, who are you and what did Dyo do to our Kai? _Spill_!” Chen pulls up a chair, next to Wendy, equally intrigued.

Kai concisely recounts the general sequence of events of getting disconnected, requesting permission to initiate a rescue mission, Baek assisting, finding Dyo, and foiling a plot that put civilians in danger.

Chen waves the words aside. “Don’t give me the stale mission debrief. You know we want the goods on Dyo.”

“Is he handsome?” Wendy asks with a wink.

“He better be. Baekhyun told me he walked in on you two in bed the next day.”

Wendy cutely covers his mouth in shock as Kai blushes and clarifies, “ _Not_ like that.”

“Aw, did you two just talk until the sun rose?” Chen teases, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“He doesn’t have to kiss and tell.” Wendy swats Chen’s shoulder playfully. Kai doesn’t miss how her fingers graze down his suit jacket afterward. “But the important thing is, you’re an item now, right?”

Kai can’t hide the grin the spreads across his face. “Yeah, we are.”

She squeals delightedly. “We ship it. We ship it hard.”

The ringing endorsement feels nice, but Kai’s done being in the spotlight for now. He shifts the conversation over to the duo’s endeavors. “What about you guys? What happened with your big joint mission?”

They answer simultaneously.

“Ah, it was a mess.” “It was _awesome_.”

Wendy laughs at Chen’s excitement, shaking her head fondly. “Okay, you tell the story then,” she says.

Chen rubs his hands together and jumps right in. “So this was a total infiltration. We were going straight into the headquarters of a rival spy agency and retrieving all the shit they stole from our warehouse a few weeks back.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I bet you were part of at least a few of the retrieval missions for some of the gear, since Tao said he’d recovered a few items from one of their satellite offices before,” Chen explains.

Ah. The ‘sensitive toasters.’

“Was this agency DD?” Kai asks.

“Yeah.”

Dammit. This company policy of typically not sharing info across missions or across navigators is really not doing them any favors. How does it help for agents and navs to go in blind to the bigger picture? He ought to file a motion with the executive committee to get this changed, except after today, it doesn’t really--

“Hey,” Chen snaps his fingers to get Kai’s eyes back on him. “You still want the story or are you busy daydreaming of Dyo’s di--”

Kai picks up a sugar packet off the table and frisbee throws it straight at Chen’s mouth to interrupt. He blocks it but it serves its purpose, disrupting his sentence as he chuckles victoriously at getting a rise out of Kai. “What happened when you got there?” Kai asks, steering them back on topic.

“We had an elaborate plan to get virtually every agent inside first, then take them down from the inside out.”

“Which never sat well with me,” Wendy pipes in.

“True. But given the building layout and where the equipment was, it made sense to start inside and do an interior sweep to eliminate all the enemy operatives we anticipated would be there,” Chen argues. “Only… that was false info that we had gotten over wiretap. We ‘knew’ what they wanted us to know.”

Kai’s eyebrows twitch. “It was a trap.”

“Yep. With a little help of a mole.” Wendy crosses her arms and glowers, looking especially put out. “I hate it when Baekhyun’s right.”

“So it was Yeri? Wait, did he reach you guys in time?? Was anyone hurt?” Kai sits up straighter, suddenly worried for his regulars.

“Baekhyun moreso _confirmed_ what we already had deduced by the time he called. Almost all the agents were inside, and things seemed amiss right away. There were no enemies showing up on the radar,” Wendy explains. “Xiumin was the first to suggest they were using our stolen cloaking tech.”

“But luckily, they didn’t realize what they had stolen was only the beta version. The one we used in the training mission last month for the “ambush Tao’s room” challenge. Thanks to Kai’s careful notes in the post-training report, our R&D specialists were able to go back and address the flickering issue that gave away our positions when we were in close range. So equipped with the updated version, we were successfully cloaked and not coming up on DD’s screens, while blips from their people would flash red every so often on ours, giving us the advantage. Once we discovered this, Yeri started making small ‘mistakes’ that would cause little noises to give away our position, trying to play it off as cute mishaps by a newer operative. Lay and Tao didn’t buy it and were exchanging thoughts in Mandarin over the line... which I happen to know _just_ enough of to catch their drift.”

“He’s a hero,” Wendy beams before laying a heavy smooch on Chen’s cheek.

Kai does his best not to gag at the fawning.

“And I appreciated the hero’s welcome you gave me later that night,” Chen says to her with a naughty grin.

“Oh come on, is it really necessary for me to hear this?” Kai considers bailing and heading for his desk. But he _does_ want to know how his agents fared.

Wendy blushes and hides her face in Chen’s shoulder. “Just finish the story,” she chastises weakly, not daring to look at Kai. Chen pecks the crown of her head affectionately and turns back to him.

“The moment the cloaking flickered and revealed four enemies flanking them like they knew where to be, Tao and Lay were ready to immediately take down Yeri and retreat to regroup. Turns out… DD didn’t have nearly as many agents stationed there as we thought in pre-planning. They led us to believe they’d be fully stocked there in order to lure all our agents out of Seoul, where evidently they had planned the Insadong attack. They figured they had the advantage over us since they a) knew we were coming, b) had Yeri as a traveling mole who’d switch sides once fighting broke out, and c) had cloaking to hide their positions while we walked right into their trap.”

“And if everything had worked… Prudence might have assumed the real traitor and mole was Dyo since he was here and could’ve assisted with Insadong. So Prudence would’ve been without _any_ field operatives,” Kai reasons. Damn. Their agency could’ve ended up framed for a civilian attack _and_ had no way to recover even if someone was willing to still do business with them for lack of reliable staff. It was a risky maneuver by DD, but it could’ve been the end of Prudence once and for all.

“Good thing they underestimated us. Good work, guys. I’m genuinely honored to be a team with you all,” Wendy states sincerely.

It’s a shared sentiment. Even Chen is nodding with appreciation at Kai as they have a moment of mutual admiration. Under all the bickering, Kai has to admit that the navigators and his regulars really have become his friends, his work family. It feels a little bittersweet, growing closer like this over the past month, because…

“Guys, it’s been a good run, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to stay on with Pru--,” Kai shares.

“Not so fast!” Baekhyun bursts through the stairwell doors just as Kai is making his proclamation. He’s disheveled, tie askew, his shirt not buttoned properly, hair roughed up. He looks like he ran a marathon or--

Gross.

“So the compromise is, Dyo needs to transfer to R&D, but you can still nav if he’s not in the field anymore,” Baek pants out, leaning on the break room door frame. “We can only offer him part-time for the first few months, but the plan is to get him to full-time work when we hit our new fiscal year in six months and can reallocate departmental budget lines.”

“That’s great!” Wendy cheers.

“Baek, I appreciate your efforts, but I’m going to have to decline. Kris can use my salary to make the R&D position full-time from the get go or… actually you’ll need to ask Dyo what he prefers, but with me gone, he should be able to stay in the field if he wants.” Kai can’t and shouldn’t be the one to choose Dyo’s path. That’s up to him.

“Are you kidding me?? Do you know what I had to do to get him to agree to this?” Baek whines dramatically.

Kai stands and claps him on the shoulder, murmuring, “Come on now, we both know you would’ve have done whatever it was anyway, pervert.”

Baekhyun does his best to hide his smile, the expression coming out as an amused grimace. “I resent that. Nothing wrong with being experimental, Mr. Goody Two Shoes. And you could’ve at least given me a heads up!”

“I tried calling, but you didn’t answer. I tried Kris’s office next, but Irene said he was ‘indisposed at the moment.’ So I got dressed and came to clear out my desk until one or both of you were no longer _indisposed_.” Kai strolls over to the espresso machine. “Since we’re all here, how about one last round of drinks?” he asks, starting to brew a batch for the team.

“Because you’re really not coming back after today? This is it?” Chen asks, actually sounding wistful.

“Because I’m taking this with me. It’s _my_ machine, after all.” Kai sticks his tongue out at him as the break room fills with laughter.

\----------

He’s submitted his letter of resignation and packed up the few belongings from his desk into his messenger bag, gifting his remaining food to a sulky Baekhyun who keeps hanging around. It doesn’t do much to dispel the sulk.

He gets a text from Kyungsoo as he’s wrapping up.

_Saw your note :) Went to my place to take care of some stuff._

_Planning to get to Luhan’s earlier than usual._

  _Why earlier than usual?_

_I think they all know. We can go together._

 

_No way. I want to get my Mimi time in before her favorite arrives :P_

  _Haha, okay, okay._

_I can skip today if you want, let you have her all to yourself?_

  _Don’t you dare._

_I love her, but I love you more._

 

Jongin holds his phone screen up to his face, covering his massive smile as he holds in the scream that’s threatening to spill out.

“You’re so fucking whipped.”

Baekhyun’s voice spooks him out of his overjoyed state. Jongin tucks away his phone in his back pocket and smiles. “And you’re not?”

“Please. You know exactly who’s whipped in my relationship.” He waggles his eyebrows and Jongin waves him off, not wanting to think more about how and why he has Kris wrapped around his devious little finger.

“I think I’ve got everything,” Jongin says, giving his space one last look over. “Take care of everybody for me?”

“Yeah…” Baekhyun is solemn. It’s almost creepy, seeing him look this somber.

Jongin purses his lips and then pulls him in for a hug. “Thank you. For everything. Not just today or yesterday but… all of the 496 days I was here.”

Baekhyun huffs a sad laugh. “Nerd,” he grumbles. “Who keeps track of their days with a company? Did you expect a gold star if you made it to 500 or something, because we don’t do that sentimental shit here.”

“It’s okay to admit you’ll miss me, you ass.”

“No,” he petulantly retorts, but Jongin thinks he hears a hiccup follow, and Baek hugs him tighter.

A few overly manly thumps on each other’s backs help ward off the tears, and they let go before things get weird.

“You know,” Jongin says as he tucks his suit jacket into his messenger bag and slings it over his shoulder, fixing his dress shirt’s collar, “I still have your number in my call log.”

“And I have yours.”

“Maybe I won’t delete it,” he ventures.

Baekhyun grins broadly. “That sounds like a violation of some company policy, _Kai_.”

“Section 2.7. But what do I care? Not like I work here anymore,” he says with a wink.

“Check out the rebel! Good to see a little of Dyo rubbing off on you.” Baek punches his shoulder fondly. “Text me next week. We can grab dinner or something.”

Jongin nods. “See you around then.”

He collects the coffee machine from the break room, and rides the elevator to the lobby one last time.

\------

After dropping off the heavy machine in his apartment (that counts for today’s workout, damn), Jongin grabs his blueprints and heads right back out the door. It’s a gorgeous morning, a few puffy clouds drifting by leisurely in the blue sky as he enjoys the short walk to Chateau des Chats. He pulls the door open to the cafe with a bright smile on his face, aimed at the back corner table but--

It’s empty.

“Good morning,” calls a familiar, smooth voice to his left.

He turns to see Kyungsoo, sitting at Jongin’s usual sunny table by the window with Mimi on his lap. His heart leaps into his throat, not just because of the gesture of joining him in the seat across from his usual workspace, but also because…

Kyungsoo is in a suit.

Navy blue jacket and slacks, crisp white button down, top button unbuttoned, no tie. Sweet Jesus, he looks hot.

“I think the polite response is, _Good morning to you, too_ ,” the old lady on the sofa says, eyeing him over the top edge of her newspaper.

Jongin picks his jaw up off the floor and gulps before hurriedly bidding the whole room good morning. The high school girl laughs, unabashedly having been filming his reaction on her phone.

“Starting on your latte now, Jongin!” Luhan greets him.

He makes an acknowledging sound and walks over to his table on wobbly legs, still dying over how _fly as fuck_ Kyungsoo looks, polished to handsome professionalism in his attire with his hair swept slightly up and to the side.

“You look incredible,” he breathes in awe as he sits down.

Kyungsoo beams, pleased with his reaction. “Thanks, it’s new. Just delivered last night.” He fiddles with the cuffs of his dress shirt, as though he’s still getting used to the restrictiveness. Maybe it’s the first time for him to wear a suit. Ever.

“Did you have a special occasion coming up?”

“Yeah, actually.” Kyungsoo’s eyes drop to his lap, giving Mimi a few last pets as she mews and hops down to go see Jongin. When he looks back up, he wears a soft smile. “Meeting you.”

Jongin tilts his head to the side, not understanding.

“I ordered it two weeks ago,” Kyungsoo explains, fingers smudging away a phantom stain on the table, “in hopes it might help me feel ready, one day, to come over to your table here, and say hi.”

Jongin’s chest floods with affection. He’s moved, beyond words. They had each been preparing, in their own ways, to get closer. To take that step to cross the line, and really know each other. How long would it have been before Jongin would’ve given his real number to Dyo under some flimsy work excuse? Or how long would it have taken Kyungsoo to work up the courage to speak to him in this cafe, if it hadn’t been for that the crazy mission that threw them together? Just a few more weeks? Days, maybe?

It doesn’t matter. It would’ve happened eventually. One of them was bound to break the seal. Something about this realization makes him feel warm through and through.

Jongin’s just glad it’s happened already. No more waiting. They’re together now, just as they’re meant to be.

He reaches across the table and takes Kyungsoo’s hands in his. “You know now I wouldn’t have cared about the suit, right? That I would’ve been just as happy to be sitting here with you, no matter what you were wearing. Because I love you, exactly as you are. Caring and generous, witty and bright, stronger than anyone I’ve ever met. Suit or sweatpants could never change the fact that you belong with me.”

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath in, and mouths a soft _love you, too_. They share a quiet moment, hands squeezing together. Jongin is glad he doesn’t try to refute his words or fight the acceptance. It probably won’t be the end of Kyungsoo’s struggle to see them as the equals Jongin knows they are. It’ll take time.

But Jongin doesn’t mind. He has all the time in the world for Soo.

A light sniffle disrupts the total silence in the room, and both of their heads swivel toward the sound. The cafe suddenly leaps into synchronized motion. The high schooler quickly jerks her head back to her math problems, and the ahjumma on the couch suddenly stands to get a kitty from the cat tree while Luhan clatters some dishes in the sink.

Eavesdroppers. “You can stop pretending you’re ignoring us,” Jongin calls out. Kyungsoo chuckles, the lovely sound drawing his attention right back to his beloved. “By the way, Soo, since you’re already dressed to impress and all, you’re coming to dinner at my parents’ house tonight.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes enlarged dramatically. “Wha-- but what if...”

“They’ll love you.”

“I’m not sure I can really win them o--”

“You could do just about anything if you step past the fear of what might happen,” Jongin says teasingly.

Kyungsoo bites his lower lip as he holds back a chuckle. “Oh is that how it is? Listen here, smartass-”

“Smartass?” he pretends to be affronted. “And here all along, I thought I was a sweetheart.”

“Never said you couldn’t be both, sugar.”

“Here’s your coffee!” Luhan loudly emerges from behind the bar with Jongin’s latte in hand. He presents the mug and then pulls up a chair uninvited. “So. I gave it a full twenty-four hours, no harassment. Now, I have a few questions.”

“I have work to do.” Jongin accepts Mimi hopping up into his lap and starts pulling out his blueprints. He really does need to finish Mrs. Cho’s condo so he can start on more jobs. Finally taking the leap to start his own architecture firm means he’s going to have to get serious about his turn-around time. Kyungsoo moves their cups to the side so Jongin can set up his drafting papers.

“Fine, then I’ll just have to ask all of them to Kyungsoo,” Luhan huffs, nose in the air before pivoting to the other man.

“Figured you would have already, honestly,” Jongin replies coolly, using his pencil and ruler to outline the upper cabinets in the floorplan’s kitchen.

“He tried,” Kyungsoo says.

Luhan nods. “Yes, we bombarded the very dapper young man here with all sorts of questions regarding his fancy outfit and his dramatic exit yesterday with our other favorite patron.”

“I suffered this morning,” Kyungsoo deadpans. “A lot.”

The ladies in the room laugh, and then the halmeoni adds, “He wouldn’t say a peep about you, saying he felt it inappropriate to speak on anything without you present.”

“But now we’re all here, so let the interrogation begin!” Luhan stretches and cracks his knuckles. “First things first, how did you two _really_ meet, since it wasn’t here.”

“At work.”

Jongin grins at Kyungsoo’s truthful-but-evasive answer, continuing to stay out of it and drawing the sink basin onto the blueprints.

“You’re co-workers? How come he didn’t recognize you?”

“We work in different departments.”

“Okay, but you’re always still here when he leaves for the office.”

“I work night shift.”

Luhan lets out a long hum of understanding. “I see, I see. So were you the crush all along?”

“Yeah,” Jongin chimes in without looking up from his work. “It was always him. He’s so special, I just didn’t think I stood a chance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, my spyau babies ;_; A short epilogue will be up this weekend, and I have a few outtakes/deleted scenes that I'll put up sometime soon, too, but this is essentially the end. It's been one year with this story *gasp*. Whether you've been here from the start or just joined today, I hope this has been a nice journey. Did you like the wrap up with Jongin's work + cat cafe families? Did the big over-arching Prudence plot line satisfy? Did I get too gooey with the Kaisoo here? 
> 
> Talk with me in the comments! And see you in a few days with the epilogue...
> 
> <3 At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo)| [Tumblr ](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com)| [Curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)
> 
> PS Here was the inspo for Soo in the cat cafe ;) (from a Hyung movie poster, pop open the top button to make him match)  
> 


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **DOUBLE UPDATE: Chapter 20 was updated on Friday. Be sure you've read it first before you read this epilogue!**

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~~One year later~~

 

Jongin’s architecture firm gradually becomes a stable success. He starts by picking up additional projects from his mother’s knitting group, becoming a regular visitor at the end of their weekly meetings, much to their delight. The women are eager to help connect him to other friends and family they know once he’s worked his way through their homes. 

Between the steady leads from his mother’s knitting group, Jongin tries to find commercial gigs, too, but no one wants to take a chance on someone whose portfolio consists of only residential work. He’s almost ready to accept his firm will be doing exclusively home renovations when he gets a call: His first corporate project is from none other than Prudence. Kris specifies he’s not hiring him because he’s concerned about Jongin’s fledgling business, but because it makes sense to use someone who already understands their corporation’s ‘unique needs’ in an office. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun both insist they didn’t pressure the boss, but Jongin’s not sure he believes them.

Prudence’s business is thriving and they need to expand. The job is to help redesign a building (that looks awfully familiar) into one that’ll host a new branch office. He finds out over drinks with Baekhyun that it’s one of DD’s old buildings. The agency went bankrupt, and Kris was petty enough to buy up their properties.

With a serious commercial project added to his resume, Jongin tries to secure more corporate or government contracts, but he’s not too confident when it comes to cold-calling places or establishing new business relationships. That’s where Kyungsoo volunteers to fill in, the strength to his weakness. It starts as a favor here, a favor there. Just a doting boyfriend helping out in his down time. But Kyungsoo is so good at it, that he rapidly accelerates the number of new clients coming to Jongin, doubling them within a month. Satisfied business partners start referring their friends to him, accidentally labelling Kyungsoo the firm’s sales contact, which Jongin thinks is an excellent idea. He suggests they make it official, turning it into a permanent position.

They spend a week in serious discussions interspersed with several saucy jokes from Kyungsoo. 

“You want to boss me around, sugar?” 

“Should I call you Mr. Kim just in the office, or in the bedroom, too?”

After careful consideration and a few rounds of roleplay sex, they both agree they’ve missed spending their workdays together. Kyungsoo quits his job at Prudence. Now, he handles all of the firm’s sales, making first contact with clients, following up on leads, and giving pitches at private and corporate functions. He’s outrageously successful at getting people to sign on, even prior to meeting Jongin, using his easygoing charisma that charms every person he meets. He’s such a natural salesman, he develops way more demand than they can meet. Jongin finds he has to hire another architect, then another, then another, just to keep up with the number of projects they keep landing.

The books quickly became too complicated for Jongin to handle on his own, too. But that problem has its own beautiful solution. Luhan spends several morning sessions in Chateau des Chats guiding him through what taxes to file with which agencies before growing lovingly frustrated and insisting he could do it for him, having learned all of the legal ropes and bookkeeping skills from running the cat café for years. Lu now takes care of all the behind the scenes aspects of the business, and is paid handsomely for it. They hold a meeting once a week at the café to discuss the details over lattes and pastries.

Working at his passion with his best friend and boyfriend as his business partners: Everyone should be so lucky.

Jongin unlocks his apartment door and calls out in greeting. “We’re home!”

As he places his shoes neatly into the front cubby, Mimi mews and winds through his legs, rubbing against his slacks and making one, two, three passes as always. As predictable as Jongin’s routine is, Mimi’s has also been the same, ever since they adopted her and she moved in. Or even before, in the cat café, honestly. Maybe that’s why they were always drawn to each other.

After getting pets from Jongin, she weaves predictably over to Kyungsoo’s legs, leaning up on his shin to get scratches under her chin.

“Hi, pretty girl,” he mumbles, sliding his backpack off and onto the floor. Jongin picks it up and hangs it on the hook he installed in the coat closet for that precise purpose.

Scooping up the kitty, Kyungsoo drags himself into their living room and plops onto the couch, walking past the bookshelves full of picture frames. The old ones of Jongin and his parents, of Jongin and Taemin, are still up, but they’re outnumbered now by frames filled with Jongin and Kyungsoo. On the beach in Jeju during their first vacation. Seated around their dining table the night Soo moved in. Smiling up at the camera while they’re laying on their backs in their grassy field late one night stargazing. Standing with arms around his parents on their 30th wedding anniversary celebration, Jongin’s mom squeezing Kyungsoo in the tightest hug. (Jongin jokes he lost the title of favorite son within a month of introducing them.)

And finally, the most recent and important addition to the shelves: a shot of Kyungsoo proudly holding his General Equivalency Diploma. Jongin smiles, tracing a finger over Soo’s cheerful face in the photo, signature smile with tongue poking just barely between his teeth.

“Hey tiger, if you get me a beer, I’ll love you forever.” Kyungsoo shoots him some aegyo from the couch, wiggling his shoulders up and down with a coy smile while Mimi snuggles in his lap. Spoiled sweetheart. Jongin rolls his eyes and turns back to the kitchen to fetch him a cold one.   
  
“Hey tiger,” Kyungsoo calls more softly, sincerely. Jongin turns around. “If you didn’t get me a beer, I’d still love you forever.”

Kyungsoo’s lines: even if they live to be 100, Jongin will never tire of them. The tender ones still knock him off his feet and make him fall in love all over again.

“You know that, right, sweetheart?”

He crosses the room to lean down and steal a soft kiss from Kyungsoo’s lips. “I know.”

Before he can stand back up, Kyungsoo has a hand wound around the back of his neck and is guiding him back for a deeper kiss. A few gentle brushes of lips and tongues, and Jongin finds himself drawing closer, kneeling onto the couch, legs outside of Kyungsoo’s thighs trying not to crush their cat. She scampers away with a prissy mew anyway. With his lap vacated, Kyungsoo pulls them flush together, kissing Jongin with a sensual rhythm and enjoying the breathy moans that slip out. One more long, slow kiss, and Kyungsoo whispers against his mouth, “Forget the beer. I’ll get drunk off you instead.”

Kyungsoo has many sides, soft and thoughtful, playful and passionate. And they’re all perfectly matched with Jongin. He’s known from the start, and luckily, with a little time and a lot of love, Soo’s come to believe it, too. That he fits here, on equal footing, as a permanent presence in Jongin’s life and home. In what’s become  _ their  _ lives and  _ their  _ home. 

Everything’s complete waking each morning and closing every day with his Dyo, his Nightingale. The first and last love of Jongin’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was only my second chaptered fic, and I thought it'd be a shorter story when I started, but I ended up falling in love with this Kaisoo and making it more romantic than originally intended. I have no regrets about that (hope you don't either). I feel like I've made so many new friends via this fic TT Love you all. Big thanks to my fic wife indigomini for beta-ing basically every chapter and cheering me on! She's a treasure.
> 
> If you've read through the end here, I'd love to know! Even a simple "Thank you for the ride" or "I'll miss this fic!" would make me really happy. <3
> 
> Sometime next week-ish, I will post an Extras chapter (maybe two) of deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes peeks to how I almost wrote some parts of the story. If you have any questions you want me to answer about the fic, leave them below! Thanks for reading, see you next time.
> 
> <3 At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo)| [Tumblr ](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com)| [Curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	22. Extras - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Intro to the Extras**
> 
> Hi everyone! I’ve missed this story a lot already. There are going to be two chapters of extras because it was getting long. This segment has three outtakes and a deleted scene. But first, this gorgeous poster made by my lovely ficwife indigomini! :D

**Outtakes:**

Here are the original versions of how some story sections were written, along with why I changed them. Think of this like the director’s bonus footage on DVDs: I’ll give you a brief intro on what was happening, and then set you into the scene and show you what I originally wrote for it.

 

**Ch 6 - Dyo earns the name Nightingale**

  * A/N: This was the placeholder conversation for Kai giving his favorite agent this petname, but I felt like it came too early in the story and Kai was too relaxed with Dyo in this version. I wanted to keep him more flustered with Dyo for a bit longer, and I also wanted Dyo to kinda beg for a petname bc kljhasfsf I’m weak for Soo begging Nini for stuff (don’t judge me), so that’s what he ended up doing later in Ch 8 where Kai ultimately calls him Nightingale in the posted version.



_/Dyo & Kai are mid-mission, having a relatively sincere talk about life stuff  
_

“We should probably get back to work now,” Dyo reluctantly says.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been watching the screen the whole time,” Kai teases. “Did you sit down on the job, Dyo?”

He can hear the operative dusting off his pants and the slow drag of the shovel against the gravel as it’s pulled off the ground. “No good deed goes unpunished, I swear…” Dyo mock grumbles.

Kai stays quiet for awhile, mulling things over. Dyo seems to pick up on his mood to ruminate, and diligently goes back to digging. While melodically humming a soft tune.

Kai’s not sure which will kill him faster, all the sweet talk or the singing. Could this man’s voice kindly _stop_ driving his heart rate through the roof? The humming is a habit, Kai realizes. An adorable, amazing, God-send of a habit. He just... whistles while he works.

“God, your voice. You’re in the wrong line of work, Dyo. You should be a singer.”

There’s a smooth chuckle on the other side of the line that makes Kai cross his legs and try to pray away the boner.

“I bet you say that to all your operatives,” Dyo replies.

“Just you,” Kai admits, taking a long sip of his soda leftover from his midnight meal. At this point, it doesn’t feel embarrassing to admit that Dyo is different for him. Maybe it’s  because Dyo put it out there first. It’s odd how comfortable he’s gotten in just a few weeks time. “You’re my nightingale.”

_  
_

  * A/N: About the “he whistles while he works” part, Indi commented that he’s Happy the Dwarf. Poor Soo, everyone always taking shots at his height lol. It’s ok, it didn’t make it into the story.



 

**Ch 14 - Kaisoo kisses in Jongin’s apartment**

  * A/N: This was right after the DD mission ended and Jongin rushed to Kyungsoo’s table at the cat cafe. They go back to Jongin’s place to ‘talk,’ and I needed Soo to still show some hesitancy to sleep with Jongin because he knows about the firebombing of his old house but hasn’t told Jongin about it yet. Originally, I had them kissing and doing some flirty banter, and while that was fun, it just made it feel all the weirder that Soo would keep trying to leave afterward. Here is the early draft:



_/Kyungsoo just finished looking around the apartment and saying he feels like Jongin's got his life together  
_

“Don’t be jealous of my relationship with my parents: I’m with them all the time because I have nothing else to do, nowhere else to be. I’m pathetically boring, that’s all.” Jongin rolls his eyes at himself and offers Kyungsoo a tiny smile.

“You’re not. If anyone deserves the pathetic award, it’s me. You’re talking to a person who’s spent the last several months wishing to be a cat. I could only dream of getting the kind of attention you give to Mimi.”

Jongin laughs and covers his face. “It’s kind of embarrassing to know someone other than Luhan was really listening to me coo over her.”

“Never be embarrassed about how sweet you are,” Kyungsoo says seriously.

It coaxes Jongin to peek back out from behind his fingers, and their eyes catch and hold for a long second. Kyungsoo really has the prettiest eyes, he concludes. As Jongin puts his hands down by his side on the couch and shifts, their legs brush against each other. Warm thigh pressed to warm thigh, fingertips overlapping: Jongin stares at the points of contact before looking up and noticing Kyungsoo is doing the same, and the air grows still as their gazes meet again.

Kyungsoo seems to move in slow motion as he takes his time closing the gap between them, eyes lingering on his until the last moment, dark lashes fluttering shut as he kisses Jongin like he’s never been kissed before. It’s tender and slow, each press meaningful, the gentle suckle on his lower lip making him positively melt. Kyungsoo’s plush lips feel incredible, even as they leave Jongin’s mouth to peck the tip of his nose and then his forehead.

Feeling his heart swell in his chest, Jongin winds his fingers into the soft cotton of Kyungsoo’s hoodie and pulls him back in for another kiss, opting to lick along the seam of his lips this time and feeling Kyungsoo nip and suck on his tongue. Before things can get too heavy, though, he feels Kyungsoo give a closed mouth kiss the corner of his lips and say:

“I should go.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jongin kisses him again, hard, and feels the deep rumble in Kyungsoo’s chest, relishing how well their lips push and pull in rhythm.

Between kisses, Kyungsoo tries to reason with him. “You’ve been through a traumatic 10 hours and your judgment can’t be trusted right now.”

“If you leave, _that_ would be traumatic. Stop pretending to be a gentleman.”

“‘Pretending,’ wow, nice to know you think so low of me.”

They chuckle amid another assertive kiss from Jongin, who puts enough pressure into it that Kyungsoo tips back towards the arm of the couch. He grabs Jongin around the waist, maybe for balance but it effectively pulls him down on top of him. Jongin happily moves with him, bracketing Kyungsoo onto the sofa with arms on either side of his shoulders as they continue to swap insistent kisses.

Kyungsoo’s hand starts sliding down toward the crest of his ass amid one of his sexy groans before he yanks it back abruptly, bracing it against Jongin’s chest instead, gentle pressure breaking their mouths apart with a wet pop. “Really, Jongin, I should go,” he mumbles, averting his eyes away from the pout Jongin gives him. Kyungsoo pecks his cheek and deftly rolls out from underneath him and off the couch.

  * A/N: It felt wrong for Soo to let things move this far and then threaten to leave lol. So I ended up changing the final version to where Kyungsoo confessed a lot of feelings (“I see a good man. Someone who’s reserved with his words but never with his heart.” etc) and Jongin had that _Kiss me now, and I’ll be yours forever_ thought… but they didn’t kiss. 



  
**Ch 16 - Soo’s reaction to Jongin burning down his house**

  * A/N: I needed this section to feel suspenseful and kinda sad but didn’t want things to be too devastating :/ This first attempt went with a later scene that I ditched, so I had to rewrite it. In the final version, he’s very quick to reassure Jongin that he already knew and that everything is okay and he’s apologetic for not telling him earlier, but here was the original confrontation:



_/Jongin just hung up on Baek and opened the bedroom door, waking up Kyungsoo  
_

Kyungsoo frowns. “What’s wrong?” He pivots in the bed, unease clear in the way his arm muscles tense as he shifts.

“I…” Jongin bites his lower lip, his grip on the door handle still shaky. “I have to tell you something.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says evenly. His expression grows guarded, the atmosphere in the room clearly all kinds of wrong. He’s braced for what’s coming next.

Jongin is, too. He can sense Baek screaming at him somewhere on the other side of Seoul, to get out, to run. But he ignores it, needing to confess the truth.

“I…” Jongin bites his lower lip before forging ahead. “Kyungsoo, I destroyed your house.”

It’s silent for the longest second in Jongin’s life, as Kyungsoo’s eyes study his.

And then, he gives a wry smile. “Again? You’ve been busy this morning, sugar.” Kyungsoo settles back against the headboard, relaxed once more. “No big deal, I only had a few pairs of clothes and a sleeping bag in that apartment anyway,” he jabbers on with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Though I do feel bad for the owner - that place is only a lease, you know. I’m such a bad tenant. One month there and it bursts into flames? Doubt my deposit will cover that.”

Jongin’s brow creases, trying to make sense of this bizarre, flippant response. He has to replay the words a few times in his mind. _Again?_

“No, not your current pla-- Oh my God,” he gapes, breathing still ragged. “You knew.”

“Yes, and please don’t look so alarmed. It’s barely a blip on the radar when it comes to unfortunate things that have happened to me over the years, sweetheart.” He’s rolling out of bed and tugging on underwear like it’s a regular Thursday morning, and Jongin stares, completely perplexed.

  * A/N: Soo’s humor in this original version was his attempt to make Jongin relax, but he’s also suspiciously undisturbed, and it was meant to leave some doubt over if he’s really _that_ okay with it (as opposed to having a grudge or overcompensating to deflect he’s really still sad over it). Which leads us to...



 

**DELETED SCENE:**

  * A/N: I decided not to go through with this in the end. There also wasn’t a great place for it, given the flow of the story. It was probably too soon to go right after the previous outtake from Ch 16, but sometime soon-ish thereafter in the story is when Jongin would’ve brought up the house again.



 

They’re sitting in the apartment, pretending to watch TV but it’s really just background noise as they snuggle on the couch. It’s peaceful, and Jongin hates to disrupt such a lovely morning, but it’s going to keep eating at him until he asks.

“Soo, about your old home…”

Kyungsoo fingers that are carding through Jongin’s hair pause for a fleeting moment before restarting as though unbothered. “Hmm?”

“Will you… will you take me to the house?”

“Why? You wanna finish the job and make sure it’s all the way down to the studs?” Kyungsoo jokes.

Jongin doesn’t smile. He sits up straighter so he can look at him. “I’m serious.”

Kyungsoo shifts uncomfortably. “Why would you want to go see it, babe? It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me,” he says sincerely.

Kyungsoo chews on his tongue for a few moments, deep in thought. “Okay,” he says with a shrug, using the remote to turn off the TV. “Let’s go.”

\----

They board the subway and take it til almost the end of the line. It’s quieter out here. The inner neighborhoods of Seoul can be seen on the horizon, but the noise doesn’t quite reach through the fields to where they’re at. Hands linked together, Kyungsoo leads him down a road with small, single-story homes in various stages of mild disrepair. They’re all painted a faded beige color that might have been a brighter yellow, once upon a better time.

They’re almost to the end of the road when Jongin spies it. The blackened roof is blown off in some spots. In others, it's completely caved in, support beams in the backside of the house all burned down to ash. Only a few of the outer walls are still erect. The structure is a shell of what it used to be.

“Well, this is it,” Kyungsoo says unceremoniously, pointing to it unnecessarily as they stop in front of the scorched earth that was once a front lawn. A few small patches of weeds desperately try to take root where everything else is burned away.

Jongin feels himself lose his breath. He steps closer, toward the smoke-colored front door, and Kyungsoo lets him but makes no move to join him, letting go of his hand so he can investigate on his own. Jongin peers inside the cloudy windows, most of which are half blown out by the what must have been a pretty powerful blast when the flames hit the gas lines. He cautiously enters the foyer and looks around the desolate space. He sees nothing personal inside the house, just some crumbled furniture that was too damage bothering being picked over by anyone scavenging through the debris. Jongin frowns, wondering if it was mostly this austere and impersonal while Kyungsoo actually lived here.

Just before he turns away, a vase on the floor in the corner of the living room catches his eye. Nearby, the clean square marks on the otherwise blackened floor suggest that an end table, long since robbed, used to belong there. The vase is slightly warped, but it doesn’t seem to be affected by the fire itself because the golden glaze is perfectly unmarred. Jongin steps inside carefully, and picks it up. Turning it over in his hand, he spies uneven writing engraved on the bottom.

_For Dad, my hero_

Tears fill Jongin’s eyes as he climbs back out of the wreckage and slowly walks back to Kyungsoo. The man’s head is down, focused on kicking a rock about in the street like a little kid. His back is to the house and Jongin’s approach.

“Soo,” he calls in a choked voice.

Kyungsoo’s head pops up, concerned. His eyes flicker from Jongin’s teary face to the vase. Kyungsoo had initially taken a step toward him but he freezes and even starts to shuffle backwards once he sees the golden ceramic in his hand.

“Put it back.”

Kyungsoo’s voice is artificially calm, not matching the tense clench of his jaw. He’s exerting so much effort to seem unaffected, even as his body language screams otherwise.

“Why?" The questions hangs in the silence before Jongin starts to understand. "You left it there,” he says, no surprise in his voice. “On purpose.”

“Yes and no. It doesn’t matter,” Kyungsoo claims with an aggressive shrug that says otherwise. He looks away.

Jongin’s breathing grows ragged. He thought they needed to come here for _his_ closure. How foolish.

“It was important, wasn’t it. Take it with you,” he says, walking to Kyungsoo and carefully holding the vase out, keeping a tight grip on it.

“ _No._ ”

“Soo, why do you really sleep at the cat café.” He’s not sure why he says it aloud, when he already senses the answer.

Kyungsoo opens and closes his mouth a few times, chest rising and falling in rapid motions. Tears leak out the corner of his eyes as he covers his mouth with a hand and turns away.

In seconds, Jongin is embracing him from behind, enveloping him as he quietly cries in the desolate street. Kyungsoo only gives himself a few seconds of tears before he’s wiping the wetness away and summoning back his poise again. A long exhale and then he turns to face Jongin.

“I made it at school, the day he disappeared. When my dad wasn’t home that next morning like usual, Sunmi said, ‘well, we’ll just hang on to it until tomorrow and give it to him then.’”

Kyungsoo’s voice breaks a little, and so does Jongin’s heart.

“And then tomorrow turned into the next day, and the next, and- you get the idea. Even after we separated, and I was moving every few weeks for a while, I always kept that vase with me. She...” he purses his lips, another tear leaking out before he continues, “when she was still in her right mind, she never wanted me to get rid of it. _‘Just in case, Kyungsoo. Let’s keep it. Just in case.’_ It was a symbol of hope, I suppose. Or denial. One that we always held onto. That until we’d heard otherwise, maybe he was still out there and would find his way back home, back to us. I wanted to trash it again the day she lef—the day we parted ways, but… that felt unfair to her, I guess. So I didn’t. I kept it as a reminder that once, I did have a family and I was loved and that past was real. It lived in whatever closet I had or my backpack as I bounced around from place to place.” Kyungsoo pauses, roughly wiping away the quiet tears that keep forming in the corners of his eyes.

“I’d been in this house almost a year before I pulled it out. A few days before the fire.”

“Oh God, Kyungsoo, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” he says vehemently. “It’s not you. It’s just… it’s cursed, Jongin. It’s fake hope. They’re gone. They’re gone, and there’s no point of hoping things will ever be right again, and I just can’t keep carrying it _around_ anymore!”

  * A/N: T___T For me, I see everything in my mind’s eye as I write it, and this scene just got _too much_ for me, because Kyungsoo is wailing that last part in so much pain, lhakjsfd it hurt me every time I went to keep writing. He’s always trying to be this optimistic guy despite his hardships, and this scene was the peek at what happens when the pain breaks him. He’s emotionally raw and lost in this last paragraph, like trying to calm down and covering his mouth with one hand when he says “It’s just...” before giving up and throwing his arms up exasperatedly with the ‘it’s cursed’ and then everything else spills out in a fairly rapid ramble until he wails the last part. He doesn’t want to be this way ever, esp not in front of Jongin bc he _really_ doesn’t want Nini to feel guilty. I couldn’t keep writing it, but this stuff was part of his reluctance to worthy of being in Jongin’s life. He had some unresolved fears about being cursed and was scared to start a new home (hence just having a sleeping bag at his apartment and sleeping at the cat cafe) and what that might mean if he’s going to get serious with Jongin, bc he's kinda concerned he's not fit to be part of any family.


  * If this scene had stayed, I wasn’t going to leave it as an unhealed wound. Remember the bookshelves in Jongin’s apartment, that has all their pictures on them in the epilogue? There was going to be a shelf of just Kyungsoo’s things, and it was going to have this vase on it along with the first device he made for Prudence - the one Kai was going to get back from Ravi after the police swept thru DD headquarters, as discussed in Ch 13:



Dyo grimaces, patting the device before turning away. “Shame I have to leave it behind. It’s the first device I made at Prudence,” he explains.

“I can get Ravi to set it aside for you. Things go  _ missing in evidence _ all the time down at the station,” Jongin says with a smile.

“Ah, it’s not a big deal. I try not to be too sentimental about objects,” Dyo says with a hand wave. His face slips back into business mode with a slightly guarded expression as he digs through the junked equipment in the corner for his tool bag.

“I’ll get it back,” Jongin insists, making a mental note.

  * Jongin got it back. He got both of the material things Kyungsoo has cared about back, and it would've symbolized how he helped give Kyungsoo hope and a home again. <3



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this first batch of extras! Next segment will have two outtakes and a bonus scene where Kyungsoo meets Jongin's parents, plus answers to some reader questions and fun facts.
> 
> Talk to me in the comments - I always reply :-*
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


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